Glass 
Book 



SERMONS, 



UP o n THE 



MINISTRY, WORSHIP, AND DOCTRINES 



OF THE 



PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



BY G. T. CHAPMAN, D. D. 

LATE RECTOR OF CHRIST CHURCH, LEXIXGTO*. 




SECOND EDITION, 



BURLINGTON: 

CHAUNCEY GOODRICH. 

18 3 2. 



/> 



.CM 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1828, 
By George T. Chapman, D. D. 
in the Clerk's Office of the District of Kentucky. 



UNIVERSITY PRESS. ..C. GOODRICH. 



I 



TO THE 

RIGHT REV. JOHN HENRY HO BART, D, D. 

BISHOP OF NEW-YORK} 

as a cordial tribute of esteem for his talents and learning ; of 
veneration for his piety and benevolence ; of applause for the unwea- 
ried zeal and ability displayed by him, in discharging the arduous 
duties of the apostolick office j and of admiration for the fervour 
and devotedness, with which he has identified his own pious deter- 
mination, w t ith the inspired vow of isaiah, ' for zlon's sake will i not 
hold my peace, and for jerusalem's sake i will not rest, until the 
righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation 
thereof as a lamp that burneth 

This volume is respectfully inscribed, 

BY THE 

AUTHOR. 



PREFACE. 



In submitting this volume to publick inspection, my motives 
appear in the body of the discourses, and to them the reader 
is referred, instead of being solicited to wade through a tedious 
preamble. Had I consulted mere literary reputation, their 
publication would have been delayed. My parochial and 
academical duties have made such large demands upon my 
time, that, to the composition of each discourse, I was unable 
to devote more than the labour of a single day, and the whole 
have been committed to the press with no alterations, and very 
few additions. I do not present them as faultless specimens 
of style. In this aspect, neither do I challenge the severity of 
criticism, nor do I deprecate it. As no man is compelled to 
become an author, if he will write, let him be prepared to 
meet the consequences. It is better, that he should receive 
a little wholesome chastisement, than that his works should 
contribute in any degree to vitiate the publick taste. The 
writer makes no humiliating appeals to the sympathy or for- 
bearance of reader or critick. 

It was at the suggestion 6f a highly valued friend, that the 
sermons upon the Church were prepared, and their delivery 
was accompanied with repeated requests for publication. I 
have complied. With what judgment, time will show. It 
has not been with reluctance. A mind, unstable as water, 
may well sit down and count the cost, attending the utterance 
of dubious speculations ; but he must be the veriest coward, 
who is afraid to preach and to publish what he solemnly be- 
lieves to be true, lest, for combating the errours, he should be 
obliged to endure the censures, of the many. I know not, that 
the present discourses will be deemed worthy of a reply. Care 
however has been taken to notify me, in a formal manner, that 



8 



such was the intention. Be it so. When a temperate answer 
appears, I hope to embark, in the subsequent discussion, with 
benevolent and charitable feelings. I know, that I shall do it, 
in all the confidence of a certain faith, that the leading facts 
and arguments, presented in this volume, are utterly incapable 
of being refuted. Every thing plausible, that can be alleged 
in opposition, is perfectly familiar to my mind ; and I have no 
difficulty in pledging myself to its exposure, wherever reason 
is permitted to triumph over prejudice, and religion over party. 
I only ask of my worthy Christian brethren of other denomi- 
nations ; those, whom I esteem for their piety, I only ask, that 
they raise not the shout of victory, until the battle is won. 

The miscellaneous discourses have been selected in haste, 
from a large number, written at different periods. I am ap- 
prehensive, that the choice of subjects may not have been as 
judicious as my friends could wish ; but such as they are, let 
them be considered the humble offering of my head and heart, 
in the glorious cause of Christ. If a favourable opinion should 
be formed of them, by the publick, they will, with the divine 
permission, be followed by others, embracing more extended 
views of Christian faith and practice. 

Lexington, Ky. October 29, 1828. 



7 



PREFACE 

TO THE SECOND EDITION. 



The first publication of these discourses was intended as an 
experiment or effort, to ascertain how far the publick could 
become interested on subjects, usually considered subordinate 
in value, and dry in detail. To invite perusal, the popular 
style was adopted, and no greater space occupied with author- 
ities, than was indispensable to a clear and comprehensive 
view of the argument maintained. I am satisfied with their 
reception. It far exceeds the most flattering anticipations, I 
could have ventured to indulge. From many of the bishops, 
and other clergy, commendatory letters have been received, 
which have repaid me a thousand fold, for the anxieties in- 
separable from a first attempt to win the approbation of an 
enlightened community. 

But entertaining, as I do, the firm belief that God's own 
institutions must be better adapted, than those of men, to 
promote vital religion, and accelerate the triumph of the Re- 
deemer's kingdom, it has afforded me the livelier satisfaction 
to possess abundant evidence, that these sermons have been 
instrumental in reclaiming large numbers from the ranks of 
schism, and bringing them within the benign influence of the 
bride, chosen by Christ himself, and therefore most worthy of 
all acceptation. I need not name a distinguished convert. 
His elaborate array of facts, the result of intense and unwea- 
ried application, has given him an elevated station among the 
champions of truth, and furnished the Church with a vindica- 
tion of her apostolick ministry, that will only be successfully 
answered, when the bible has ceased to be regarded, as the 
revelation of the divine will. 

Although the whole of the original preface has been re- 



8 



printed, it will be perceived that the miscellaneous discourses 
have been omitted, in the present volume. The object has 
been to diminish the price, and render the work more gener- 
ally accessible. Additions, amounting altogether to about 
twelve pages, have been introduced in different places. Of 
these, I beg leave to direct the reader's attention to the con- 
clusive proof of Timothy's apostleship, derived from the first 
epistle to the Thessalonians. It was discovered, by me, a 
few weeks after the former publication, and care was taken to 
make it publick ; but my reading has not enabled me to detect 
its previous use, in any of the discussions, to which episcopacy 
has given rise. A similar remark applies to the testimony 
from Jerome, adduced on the eighty second page, and clearly 
falsifying numerous misrepresentations of that father. The 
original follows, and in addition to the expression, ' by little 
and little,' the yet stronger phrase, 4 in process of time,' is 
evidently brought within the age of the Apostles, called by 
our Saviour in person; 6 Paulatim, tempoee peocede^te, et 
alii ab his, quos Dominus elegerat, ordinati sunt ApostoM : 
sicut ille ad Pbilippenses sermo declarat, dicens, necessarium 

existimavi Epaphroditum, Apostolum vestrum, 

mittere ad vos.' 

It only remains for me, to implore the divine blessing on 
my humble labours. Grant me, gracious God, so to under- 
stand and preach thy true and lively word, that I may, by thy 
mercy, not only gain converts to thy Church on earth, but 
' joint heirs with Christ' to thy kingdom of everlasting glory. 

Burlixgtos, Vt. July 10, 1832. 



ERRATA, 

Page 12, dissention should be dissension. 
" 65, for Curch read Church. 

" 227, the quotation, assigned to Mason, must be placed to the 
account of Coles. See his discourse on God's sovereignty, page 311. 



SERMON I. 



isaiah 5 lxii. 1. 

For Eton's sake will I not hold ??uj peace, and for Jerusalem's 
sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth 
as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that 
burnetii. 

The prophet, in the commencement of this chapter, breaks 
forth into the most sublime eulogy, and indulges in the liveli- 
est anticipation of the future glory of the Church of Christ. 
He predicts the arrival of the period, when all nations should 
have cause to rejoice in her. ' The Gentiles shall see thy 
righteousness, and all kings thy glory.' He bestows upon her 
no fulsome or vain panegyrick. i Thou shalt also be a crown 
of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the 
hand of thy God. 5 He describes the final prosperity, which 
is to attend her. 6 Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken ; 
neither shall thy land any more be Desolate ; but thou shalt 
be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah : for,' giving the 
signification of these terms, 6 the Lord delighteth in thee, and 
thy land shall be married.' He foretells the ardent love, 
which should be borne her by the ransomed of the Lord, and 
the Lord himself. 6 For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so 
shall thy sons marry thee ; and as the bridegroom rejoiceth 
over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.' He un- 
folds the future anxiety of her ministers to extol and glorify 
her and her bridegroom Christ, until she become the praise of 
all the earth. ' I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Je- 
rusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night.' 

1 



10 



• The Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world. Say ye 
to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh : behold, 
his reward is with him. and his work before him. And they 
shall call them, The holy people. The redeemed of the Lord : 
and thou shalt be called. Sought out, A city not forsaken. 5 

These however, brethren, are predictions, that as yet, are 
only in part fulfilled. The Bridegroom has indeed come, and 
with him his bride, the Church. She has put on her beauti- 
ful garments, and furnished abundant evidence, that she is ; all 
glorious within.' And still the world lieth in wickedness, 
still the great mass of mankind know nothing of the spouse of 
Jesus, They have not come to the wedding supper of the 
Lamb. They have not penetrated into her bridal chamber. 
Her more brilliant triumphs, her more extended conquests 
over the hearts of the sons and daughters of men have yet to 
ensue. They have yet to bow before her shrine, and enable 
her as a chaste bride to present unto her Lord, 6 the heathen 
for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for 
his possession/ 

When these glorious things, which are spoken of her, the 
city of the living God, are to be fully realized, I know not. 
I pretend not to unravel that web of prophecy, which com- 
pletely shuts out the future from the ken of mortal eyes, so 
far as precise dates, and times, and seasons, are concerned. 
But this I know, that in confident expectation of these things, 
such confidence as was produced by divine inspiration, Isaiah 
looked down the long tract of intervening ages to their ac- 
complishment : and even at the remote period, in which he 
lived, determined with the most ardent zeal to contribute all 
in his power to effect it : all in his power to hasten, as it were, 
the approach of that truly auspicious era, when all from the 
greatest to the least should be pervaded with the knowledge of 
the Lord, and be able to ; say unto 'Zion, thy God reigneth.' 
Hear his own solemn and impassioned vow. 6 For Zion's 
sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will 
not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as bright- 
ness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burnetii.' 



n 



I require no better authority to justify a similar vow on the 
part of the present watchmen upon the walls of the Church, 
the present stewards of the manifold grace of God. The 
lapse of time should inflame rather than cool their ardour in 
a cause, so holy and so good. As every day brings us nearer 
and nearer the consummation devoutly implored by the faithful 
in Christ Jesus, when the full orbed splendour of the Sun of 
Righteousness shall shine upon the nations, and bring them 
out of darkness into marvellous light ; so should there be 
greater and greater anxiety to be counted of God worthy of 
this calling, to fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and 
the work of faith with power. 

As one of the most important preparatory steps, I have ever 
considered a closer union and harmony among Christians to 
be eminently desirable. For a long, long time they have ex- 
hibited to the wondering eye of angels a sad and melancholy 
aspect. Their divine Lord and Master enjoined, that they 
should love one another ; but no people wrangle more. It 
was his counsel, that they should attend to the weightier mat- 
ters of judgment, mercy? and faith ; but no Jew 7 s were more 
tenacious of the mint, anise, and cumin of the law. It was his 
command, that they should learn of him to be meek and lowly 
in heart ; that they should not judge, lest they be judged ; but 
no Pharisee could have looked down upon a publican with 
greater disdain and self complacency, than the disciples of 
Jesus now do, upon each other's attainments in the graces of 
religion. 6 1 am holier than thou,' is their most prominent 
motto ; the spirit it engenders enters into all their actions, and 
furnishes but too much reason to the enemy to blaspheme and 
say, 6 See those Christians, how they hate one another.' 

And now I ask you for the cause, the leading cause of this 
strange and unnatural antipathy existing among those pro- 
fessing the same faith, having the same common Master, and 
looking to him alone for the mercy of God unto eternal life ? 
You will reply, that it is to be traced to the region of the 
heart, to its still proverbial corruption, its wonderful inclina- 



12 



tion to retain something of its original taint ; as if it were 
possible to be too wise, too holy, and too happy here below. 
And I acknowledge the justice of that reply ; I have no idea 
of attempting to controvert it. ' Out of the heart,' says our 
Saviour, 6 proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornica- 
tions, thefts, false witness, blasphemies : These are the things 
which defile a man. 5 

And yet, it is apparent, that as in the natural, so in the 
moral world, secondary causes are continually producing 
their good and their bad effects. And in this point of view, 
w r as the question already suggested, proposed to me, I should 
and I do answer, that the immediate active cause of all that 
dissention and disunion, so prevalent among Christians, is to 
be referred to gross departures from primitive, apostolick, 
and therefore divine institutions. They have proved the fruit- 
ful source of all errour in doctrine, and all errour in life and 
practice. They have made the multitude wiser than God, 
and the Christian part thereof wiser than Christ. How often, 
for example, do we hear natural religion preferred to reveal- 
ed, by men who have found out, that while nature never con- 
tradicts herself, the scriptures, in the mouths of their warmest 
advocates, are made to speak variant doctrines and to inculcate 
apposing practices ! How often do we hear it asserted by 
men, of whom better things might be hoped, that the separa- 
tion of Christians into different denominations is decidedly 
favourable to the advancement of religion, and the spread of 
the Redeemer's kingdom ! I agree to the sincerity of their 
belief. I am far from intending to charge them with wilfully 
entertaining opinions hostile to the enlarged prosperity of Zi- 
an. But where do they get them ? Where have they thus 
found out the mind of God ? To the law and the testimony : 
Show me some authority from them, and I may be induced to 
credit, what 1 am now forced to consider, visionary fancies 
and unfounded assertions. Show me, that God approved the 
separation of the ten tribes from those of Judah and Benjamin, 
and the establishment of a new Church, in which the priests 



13 



of the house of Levi had no office and ministry. Show me, 
that Christ highly applauded the divisions subsisting between 
the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and other Jewish sects during 
his eventful life. Show me, that the Apostles commended the 
schism of the Gnosticks, the Nicolaitans, and those, who in 
their time perished in the gainsaying of Core. Show me this, 
and I will bow with reverence to the word of inspiration ; I 
will rejoice in the countless multitude of religious sects, which 
exist in the present age. 

But every attempt to point out such commendation would 
be utterly fruitless and vain. It is no where to be seen in the 
sacred volume ; it is no where by anticipation applied to the 
future, to a state of things resembling our own. Christ Jesus 
our Lord never says, Divide ye yourselves, my brethren, into 
divers parties and denominations. In this way, ye shall the 
more successfully build up my Church, and add to it daily of 
such as shall be saved. On the contrary, he tells them, that 
4 there shall be one fold and one shepherd.' He directs this 
prayer to heaven in their behalf, ' Holy Father, keep through 
thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may 
be one, as we are.' He submits this strong and conclusive 
argument to prove the necessity of union and concord, * Eve- 
ry kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and 
every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.' 

Nor did the Apostles inculcate different sentiments. When 
they went about evangelizing the w T orld, they did not set up, 
as our modern reformers, the Church of John, the Church of 
Peter, the Church of James, and from these names bestow 
distinct appellations upon their several disciples. All these 
things have been the result of a new flood of light, unknown 
to them, as it was to the Master whom they served. They 
rather discountenanced all schism with as much zeal as they 
discountenanced all heresy. Ye cannot fail to remember how 
solemnly St. Paul, in particular, remonstrated with the Corin- 
thians on this subject. How affectionately and earnestly he 
delivered unto them this counsel ; 6 Now, I beseech you breth- 

1* 



14 



ren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak 
the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you ; 
but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind, and 
in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me 
of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of 
Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I 
say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul, and I of Apol- 
los, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ. Is Christ divided ? 
Was Paul crucified for you V And in a subsequent chapter 
he rebukes them in these terms ; ' Ye are yet carnal ; for 
whereas there is among you envying, and strife and divisions, 
are ye not carnal and walk as men ? For while one saith, I 
am of Paul ; and another, I am of Apollos. Are ye not 
carnal ? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but minis- 
ters by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every 
man ? I have .planted, Apollos watered ; but God gave the 
increase. So then, neither is he that planteth any thing, 
neither he that watereth ; but God that giveth the increase.' 

Do you desire better evidence than this, brethren, to con- 
vince you of the danger of schism, and the extreme fallacy of 
imagining that our numerous Christian sects have a happy 
tendency in promoting the interests of religion ? Paul does 
not condemn those Corinthians for imbibing unsound and 
heretical doctrines ; such as are contrary to the true faith of 
Christ in the judgment of the modern orthodox. He speaks 
of tli em as believers. He says to them 6 All things are yours. 
And ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's.' But for this he 
does condemn them. For this he does call them carnal. 
For commencing those very separations and divisions which 
are now so highly extolled. For doing precisely what Chris- 
tians do in modern times ; saying, I am of Calvin ; and I of 
Munzer ; and I of Wesley ; and I of Fox ; with innumerable 
others : Christians, who in this particular, take no warning 
from the explicit language of Paul ; who never hear his yet 
whispering voice, emphatically asking,— Is Chris^ divided ? 
Was Calvin, or Munzer, or W T esley, or Fox, crucified for you ? 



15 



I know, brethren, that I am now treacling on tender ground. 
But the times require, that I should speak out plainly and 
directly. It can never with justice be said of me, that I would 
gladly lay an interdict on the indulgence of any doctrines, or 
on the expression of any sentiments. Let every man be ful- 
ly persuaded in his own mind, and according to that persua- 
sion, let him preach, rebuke, and exhort. He shall receivB 
no abuse, no molestation from me. And what I accord to 
others, I claim for myself. The liberty wherewith Christ 
hath made us free. The liberty of honestly entertaining, and 
honestly and charitably publishing my own views of Christian 
doctrines and Christian institutions, without being accountable 
to any human being, but to God alone, I do not question 
the piety of numerous individuals, belonging to Churches of 
human origin and invention. I do not assert, for my own 
conscience would condemn me if I did, that they cannot be- 
come the heirs of eternal life. I am rather sensible, that the 
Apostle applies to those divisions and parties, which existed 
among the Corinthians this remarkable expression ; ' If any 
man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he hin> 
self shall be saved, yet so as by fire.' And hence I abjure the 
thought of consigning to everlasting perdition large bodies of 
men, numbers of whom I am happy to believe live under the 
influence of the divine grace, and evince great advances in 
faith and holiness. But at the same time, this does not con- 
vince me, that there is no such sin as schism, however igno- 
rantly it may be indulged. It does not abstract from the scrip- 
tures nor from my faith, that memorable admonition of Paul, 
* there should be no schism in the body,' and again, 6 ye are 
the body of Christ, and members in particular ;' that body, 
which he elsewhere terms ' the Church,' and affirms of Christ, 
that 4 he is its head,' 

No, no, I have no conception, that liberality and candour 
towards others imply, that we must embrace their errours, and 
renounce in their favour truths, which have their foundation in 
the wisdom of God, and that are revealed to us and our chil- 



16 



dren, that we may embrace them with a ready mind, and in the 
confidence of a certain faith. I rather look for divine authori- 
ty in things, which may have been originally indifferent, and 
when I discover this, it is as obligatory upon me, in relation 
to the external as it is to the internal concerns of the gospel. 
If Christ directed water to be used in baptism, it is not to be 
relinquished for another fluid. If he employed bread and 
wine, as symbols of his crucified body and blood, and com- 
manded them to be taken in remembrance of him ; they are 
not to be abandoned for other substances ; although in either 
case, T am not prepared to say, that a person baptized with 
milk, or communing upon flesh and milk could not therefore 
be received up into glory. 

And this train of reasoning is equally applicable to the 
Church of Christ. If he, by his Apostles, has established 
one, giving it such distinct and characteristick marks, that 
it may be clearly discerned, and easily found, it is not for 
man to cast it aside, and relying upon his own wisdom 
proceed in forming another and another, just as caprice in- 
clines, and peculiar views and partialities preponderate. Nor 
is that a good and valid argument to justify such a course, 
which appeals to human sympathy and asserts, we are all 
aiming at the same result ; all these different roads terminate 
in the same heaven ; we shall agree there, however we may 
disagree here. I am rather of the prophet's mind ; 6 Speak 
Lord, for thy servant heareth.' I wish to learn what God 
himself hath ordained, and if the bible tells me this, I have no 
faith in the words or the things, which man's wisdom teacb- 
eth. I have no faith, that he can improve upon the gospel, or 
upon the Church of Christ. 

We are told by some, that there is no such being as the devil, 
and no such place as hell ; that the Son of God w T as but a mere 
man, and that there is no virtue whatever, in his alleged sacri- 
fice and propitiation for sin. But with me, one word from God 
destroys all these human fancies, and I am ready to exclaim 
xritb an Apostle ; 'Let God be true and every man a liar/ 



17 



We are told by others ; Our Church is as good, ay, it is better 
than yours ; it has discarded those higher orders of the clergy* 
which lord it over God's heritage, and has banished all those 
popish forms and ceremonies, which you so perversely retain. 
But when I look into the bible, and find it to be the very Church 
established by the very God and the very Christ ; I call to re- 
membrance the words of David ; 6 If I forget thee, O Jerusa- 
lem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remem* 
ber thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth ; if I pre- 
fer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.' I am animated, as I 
trust, by the same spirit, which dwelt upon the lips, and glowed 
within the heart of Isaiah. 'For Zion's sake will I not hold my 
peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the right- 
eousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation there- 
of as a lamp that burnetii.' 

Too much, indeed, of worldly wisdom appears to exist among 
Christians. The children of light have succeeded in becoming 
as wise, in their day and generation, as the children of this 
world. Nothing is more common than to hear them talk of plea- 
sing men, more by this method than by that ; of adopting new 
paths rather than the old, because they harmonize more with 
the prevailing impulse of publick opinion. It is not so much 
what God says and Christ says ; but what will the publick say., 
how will the publick think, and what probability of success is to 
be entertained, not from relying upon God : but from yielding, to 
a greater or less degree, to the known prejudices and infirmities 
of men. Our Saviour, for example, enjoins upon his disciples ; 
4 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men to be seen of 
them : otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in 
heaven.' 6 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand 
know what thy right hand doeth ; That thine alms may be in 
secret : and thy Father, which seeth in secret himself shall re- 
ward thee openly.' But now, as if entirely dissatisfied with 
this divine regulation, long lists of charitable donors to mission- 
ary and other societies, are continually published to the world, 
on the ground of expediency ; on the ground of encouraging 



is 



others to give from the expectation of having their names as 
generally known and extensively circulated. But for my part, 
brethren, I do most solemnly protest against these implied im- 
provements of the word of God. It is doing evil, that good 
may come out of it. It is but a new version of the old doctrine 
ascribed to the papists, that the end sanctifies the means. I am 
the advocate of missionary, the advocate of bible societies ; but 
let them be conducted in strict conformity to the plain injunc- 
tions of the scriptures, and without that manifest distrust of 
Providence, which such measures do not fail to indicate. 

Similar remarks apply to female exhibitions in publick. 
They are becoming more and more common, and are suppo- 
sed to produce better and better effects. In vain does tho 
Apostle in his epistle to the Corinthians require ; ' Let your 
women keep silence in the Churches : for it is not permitted 
unto them to' speak ; but they are commanded to be under 
obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn 
any thing, let them ask their husbands at home ; for it is a 
shame for a woman to speak in the Church.' The rule is often 
transgressed without fear and without compunction. Paul's 
authority is regarded as little as his Master's. We have en- 
thusiasts, who arrogate to themselves the right of rejecting 
the express words of scripture. Policy is their plea, although 
every sober and reflecting mind must be satisfied, that the only 
true policy in religion is to be found in reverent obedience to 
the oracles of God, even when they give directions apparently 
inimical to its increased prosperity. £ My thoughts are not 
your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.' 

And these sentiments I cherish to the same extent in rela- 
tion to the primitive Church. Founded by its divine head, I 
can never consent to abandon it for Churches, that have grown 
up within the memory of man, or whose claims to antiquity 
are bounded by the history of two or three centuries. I can 
tell you the fallible men, by whom they were devised, the pla- 
ces where they were first established, and the gradual progress 
they have made, in stealing away the hearts of the people 



19 



from the one only Bride of Christ. But for her, if ye wish 
to learn her origin, ye must go to the gospels and epistles. 
She has her foundation upon the Rock of Ages, and other 
foundation can no man lay than that which is laid. She may 
be despised and rejected of men ; it was the fate of the Bride- 
groom himself. But let them do this, or whatsoever else it 
may please them ; they can never induce him to repudiate her. 
They can never prevail with him to accept a second bride, in 
preference to 6 the Church,' which ' he loved and gave himself 
for it ; That he might sanctify and cleanse it by the washing of 
water by the word ; That he might present it to himself a glo- 
rious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing ; 
but that it should be holy and without blemish,' 5 

From these observations, brethren, you must perceive, that 
the present discourse is merely introductory to a series upon 
the same subject, which I propose to deliver on the morning 
of as many sabbaths, as may be necessary to complete them, 
and in which I design to give as condensed a view as possible 
of the apostolick Church, at whose altar, it is my happiness 
to minister. Those features I mean, which serve to distin- 
guish her from the various protestant denominations of our 
country. By the divine blessing, I will prove from the scrip- 
tures her divine origin. I will show, that her three orders in 
the ministry, and particularly the episcopal order, spring from 
the same . holy and unerring wisdom. I will endeavour to 
convince you, that in some other important particulars, such 
as the holy rite of confirmation, and the use of precomposed 
forms of piayer, in the publick worship of God, she conforms 
closely to the pattern of heavenly things, exhibited in the sa- 
cred volume. 

Nor shall I omit the testimony of the Christian fathers ; of 
those men, who either lived in company with the Apostles, or 
who succeeded them in the ministry during the first centuries 
of the Christian era. Many of their writings yet remain, and 
from them it will appear, that no other Church, but our own, 
was ever heard of, by those who first believed in Christ. They 



20 



had the same three orders of bishops, priests, and deacons in 
the ministry, and of these, bishops alone possessed the power 
of ordination. It was neither claimed, nor exercised by 
others. It w T ould have been deemed unscriptural and unau- 
thorized ; a usurpation of power never granted by the great 
Head of the Church, and therefore conferring none of the 
attributes of his ministers, no authority to preach the word, or 
administer the ordinances of the gospel. 

In performing this service, in which it will be necessary to 
examine every supposed objection, to recur to the records of 
history, and to speak freely, though I hope discreetly and ad- 
visedly ; I shall be guided by a sense of duty, by a desire to 
put you in possession of every material fact required to arrive 
at a correct decision in your own minds, and by the expecta- 
tion of its contributing in some degree, however slight, to the 
prosperity of a Church, built upon the foundation of the 
Apostles, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone. 
It ought not to excite unpleasant feelings in any bosom. It is 
not intended to excite them. My great object is, to inculcate 
the principles of the Church among those, who compose my 
own congregation. Religious controversy I ever have and 
ever shall deprecate. But the fair, open, manly, and peacea- 
ble investigation of truth must not be denied to the Christian 
minister, and this I shall adopt and pursue, in a manner as 
unexceptionable as my own infirmities and the nature of the 
subject will allow. It certainly does lead me to the conclu- 
sion that ministers, who are not episcopaily ordained, are act- 
ing as such, without any lawful authority ; but this has always 
been the doctrine of the Church, and as is also contended, 
the doctrine of the Apostles and primitive Christians. Wheth- 
er I shall be able to satisfy you on these points must be left 
to your own future judgment. In the mean time, give me 
your patient attention, and be determined to embrace the truth 
as it is in Jesus, however it may comport with, or contradict, 
opinions already formed. 

Amid the multitude of sects into which the mystical body of 



21 



Christ our Saviour is now rent and divided : a circumstance 
so foreign from his doctrine, and so opposed to the holy coun- 
sels of his Apostles ; it surely must be an object of extreme 
solicitude to every honest and sincere believer in him, to ascer- 
tain where his ministers rightfully exercise the functions of 
the priesthood ; where they rightfully preach, and baptize, 
and celebrate the supper of the Lord, You shall know, as 
far as my humble powers and diligent examination will allow 
me to promise. It is a topick to which I have already -devo- 
ted many hours of calm, dispassionate study, and the result 
has confirmed me in the opinion, that schism is the greatest 
curse of Christendom ; that it is attended with more fatal con- 
sequences than the united attacks of infidelity and vice ; and 
that the world will never be converted to Christianity, until 
its present professors discard their existing animosities and 
divisions, and cordially unite together in the Church, which is 
thus described by St. Paul ; ' There is one body, and one 
Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling ; One 
Lord, one faith, one baptism.' 6 For by one Spirit are we all 
baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, 
whether we be bond or free.' 

May God therefore, of his infinite mercy, direct us into that 
Church, whether it be Presbyterian, or Baptist, or Methodist, 
or Episcopal. May he possess all Christian people with light 
to discern, and readiness of mind to embrace it. The wounds 
of many festering hearts would be healed. The jealousies of 
many bitter partisans of rival standards would subside. The 
joy of all the faithful and godly in these denominations, and 
many of other communions would abound. Peace and order 
would be substituted for rancour and strife, for confusion and 
every evil work. In due time, the heathen would hear of it 
and be glad. The news would be wafted upon the wings of 
the wind. Messengers of grace and love would carry it to them 
in every direction. There would be none to molest or to make 
them afraid, convinced as all men would necessarily be, bj 
this happy fulfilment of the sure word of prophecy ; convinced 

2 



22 



as all men would be, that the Lord God Omnipotent reigned f 
that the Zion of his beloved Son' was indeed deserving the 
praise of the whole earth, and that 'her righteousness ought to 
go forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burn- 
etii. ' Amen. 



SERMON II. 

isaiah lxii. 1. 

For Ziorfs sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem* & 
sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth 
as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that 
burnetii. , 

The ardent affection and zeal for the welfare of Zion 
and Jerusalem, expressed in these words by the prophet Isaiah, 
combined with the object of these discourses, already announ- 
ced, render it proper to remark, that the two names are equal- 
ly applicable to the Church of the living God. 

Zion signifies,- ' a monument raised,' 6 a heap of stones set 
up Jerusalem, 'the vision of the perfect or of the pacifick,' 
' the vision of peace, or the possession, or the inheritance of 
peace.' The latter name was given to the city of David* 
which contained the temple of the Lord God of Israel, and 
the former was applied to the mountain upon which it was 
built. 4 Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth,' 
says the Psalmist, 6 is Mount Zion, on the sides of the north, 
the city of the great King. God is known in her palaces for 
a refuge.' Its application to the Jewish Church pervades the 
old testament, and in the new, the Apostle Paul applies it from 
Isaiah to the Christian ; ' As it i& written, Behold I lay in 
Zion a stumbling stone, and rock of offence : and whosoever 
believeth on him shall not be ashamed.' He also speaks of 
6 Jerusalem which now is,' and of 6 Jerusalem which is above ;' 



23 



in this manner designating the Church militant and the 
Church triumphant. 

In perfect coincidence with the language and feelings of 
Isaiah, I may therefore express the warmth of my attachment, 
to what I believe to be the true apostolick Church, in his own 
devout and fervid vow ; ' For Zion's sake will I not hold my 
peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest until the right- 
eousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation there- 
of as a lamp that burnetii.' 

The scriptures of the new testament are, indeed , full of en- 
comiums upon the organized society of the disciples of Jesus, 
which is there emphatically described as the Church. Hav- 
ing reminded you of several upon the last sabbath, I shall merely 
recite upon the present occasion, the solemn declaration of 
our Lord to one of his Apostles ; 4 And I say ako unto thee, 
That thou art Peter ; and upon this rock I will build my 
Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.' 
The object is not to contend against the peculiar interpreta- 
tion of this passage maintained by our fellow Christians of the 
Roman Catholick persuasion ; but in every attempt to discuss 
a controverted subject, it is important to understand the pre- 
cise import of terms. What then did our Saviour mean in this 
celebrated text by his Church ? It has been defined, an as- 
sembly of faithful men, of believers, of true Christians. But 
the definition is not strictly correct. For Judas belonged to 
it during our Lord's ministry. Simon Magus was baptized 
into it by Philip, one of the seven deacons, and among other 
parables, Jesus put forth one, in which he described it, as a 
field containing wheat and tares, and said, < Lot both grow to- 
gether until the harvest.' So that to speak of his Church, 
as comprising those only, among the various denominations of 
Christians whom God shall perceive -and acknowledge to be 
faithful and true, is directly at variance with this description, 
and the two examples which have been adduced. 

I prefer therefore a more scriptural explanation. I prefer 
to consider that portion of men, who have submitted to the 



24 



holy rite of baptism, as constituting the body of Christ's 
Church, no matter what may be the real state of their hearts 
and affections. This can be known to him only, who search- 
eth the heart and trieth the reins. But that which is visible 
is known to us. On the one side, we have the world, and on 
the other, those that have been taken from it, and sacra men- 
tally admitted into the Church, of which Christ is the head, 
because he purchased it with his blood, and because it is a 
kingdom over which he exercises supreme power and authori- 
ty- 

The great, the all important question remains however to 
be discussed. Baptism is undoubtedly the initiatory rite or 
sacrament, by which we enter the visible fold of Christ ; but 
how ris that fold itself established ? Where resides the in- 
strumental power of conferring its gracious privileges upon 
the sons and daughters of men ? 

Will you tell me, brethren, that any man or set of men can 
perform all this, in virtue of their own free will and pleasure ? 
It would be a very popular doctrine, and would harmonize 
wonderfully well with that spirit of freedom, which built up, 
and still perpetuates our political institutions. And no man 
can honour that spirit, or love those institutions more than the 
preacher of to day. Most cheerfully and most heartily do I 
recognise the principle, that in the civil concerns of this life, 
all power and sovereignty reside, and of right ought to reside 
in the people. They can form what government they choose, 
and they can alter it when they choose ; whenever indeed the 
happiness and prosperity of the larger number loudly de- 
mand a change. Herein they are the sole judges and the 
sole rulers. The Almighty hath set no limits to their power, 
except that it be exercised in justice and equity. 6 Righteous- 
ness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.' 

While however I am thus anxious to range myself on the 
side of those, who zealously maintain the political rights and 
privileges of mankind, on the subject of self government, I 
am no such enthusiast in favour of human liberty, as to ima- 



25 



gine, that it can justly arrogate to itself the smallest original 
authority, where God hath expressly reserved it to himself. 
Popular or not popular, Christ Jesus is with me, King in Zi- 
on and Lord of all. * Thy throne, 5 O Christ, ' is forever and 
ever : the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou 
lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness : therefore God, 
thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above 
thy fellows.' And that throne and that sceptre, the throne 
and sceptre of a kingdom, which is spiritual, which he himself 
declared was not of this world ; these, he hath never relin- 
quished ; these, he never will relinquish until in the language 
of Paul, ' the end cometh, when he shall have delivered up 
the kingdom to God even the Father ; when he shall have 
put down all rule, and all authority and power. For he must 
reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 4 

I desire no plainer testimony than this, to prove the inabili- 
ty of mere men to establish his Church, and commission his 
ambassadors, as they would establish a new form of govern- 
ment, and commission its executive, legislative, and judicial 
officers. For this purpose, they have neither warrant nor ex- 
ample from the scriptures. The Jewish Church and priesthood 
were the result of divine appointment alone, and the Christian 
stand upon the same foundation. ■ i Jesus came and spake un- 
to 5 the eleven disciples, 6 . saying, all power is given unto me 
in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all na- 
tions, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the 
Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; Teaching them to observe all 
things whatsoever I have commanded you, and lo, I am with 
you always, even unto the end of the world. 5 

You perceive, brethren, by the very terms of this commis- 
sion, that it was limited in its nature, and in the privileges, 
which it conferred. Our Saviour did not address mankind, 
at large. Here is no authority conveyed to Jewish doctors ; 
those who officiated in Jewish synagogues, to go about evan- 
gelizing the world, and baptizing their converts into his spirit- 
ual fold. Itjsjttotj conveyed to the best, of them, to Gamaliel, 

2* 



26 



to Nicodemus, to Joseph of Ariinathea, much less to the worst. 
It is not even conveyed to the seventy disciples, whom he had 
before elected, and sent abroad on errands of miraculous grace 
and virtue ; but to the eleven and the eleven alone. Had 
others acted under it, it would have been a manifest usurpa- 
tion of ungranted power ; it would have been a violation of 
Christ's ordinance, and would have subjected the offender, 
perhaps, to the same punishment, which afterwards befell An- 
anias and Sapphira. 

No separation of individuals to a specifick office and minis- 
try could indeed be more solemn and imposing. It was per- 
formed by our Lord in person, after his resurrection from the 
dead, and even under these circumstances was not fully com- 
pleted. They were still to remain at Jerusalem, and wait for 
the promise of the Father. They were still to elect another 
to take part qf this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas 
by transgression fell. They Avere still to be baptized with the 
Holy Ghost and with fire, before they could venture to act as 
ambassadors for Christ. And does this look as if their rights 
and privileges might be assumed by others, at pleasure ? Does 
this look, as if any person, upon his own mere motion, or 
guided by some fancied call from God, could presume to ex- 
ercise gifts and graces, thus solemnly and authoritatively con- 
ferred ? To me, it speaks a very different language. To me, 
it reserves all original and inherent power to Christ. It con- 
fers it, after a delegated manner only, upon the eleven, and 
confides to them the responsible office, of being his ministers 
to the uttermost parts of the earth ; of preaching his gospel, 
and founding his Church, wherever there were eyes to see, and 
ears to hear, and souls to save. 

To what has been already advanced, I have therefore to re- 
mind you, that in every correct definition of a Church, you 
must invariably associate with it, the idea of officers, deriving 
their authority from its great head, and by him empowered to 
discharge its ministry, and perpetuate its existence. In this 
particular, it corresponds with all societies of human inven- 



27 



tion. You never heard of one, without its appropriate offi- 
cers. Its very existence depends upon them. The moment it 
is formed, they are chosen. Without some presiding power, 
every thing relating to it would be involved in inextricable 
anarchy and confusion. It would be thus, with all literary and 
humane societies. It would be thus, with all the governments 
upon the earth. Our own would cease to exist, if there were 
no longer any provision for the election and appointment of 
men to administer it, according to the constitution and the 
laws. You are even aware, that with us, they must be elected 
with certain qualifications, and after a prescribed form and 
manner, or the nation would regard them in the light of usurp- 
ers, and refuse obedience to their illegitimate authority. Nor 
was the Church of Christ deemed, by its divine founder, of 
less value and importance than the societies and governments 
of this world. He has rather given to it, an authorized minis- 
try. He has rather promised to be with it 6 always, even unto 
the end of the world.' 

And now comes the question of greatest moment to those, 
who would enlist under the banners of the true apostolick 
Church, and the ministry, it has received of the Lord Jesus. 
A vast multitude of sects are known to claim it ; but as we 
have already seen, that it is one, and 4 that there should 
be no schism in the body, 5 in other words, no sects, Where is 
it to be found ? I answer, wherever the officers in question 
are duly called and ordained. Wherever, according to the 
institution of the Apostles, endued with power from on high, 
there are these three orders in the ministry ; deacons, autho- 
rized to preach the gospel and baptize ; priests or presbyters, 
having the additional authority to commemorate the death 
and sufferings of Christ, in the holy eucharist ; and bishops, 
who alone possess the greater power of celebrating the holy 
rites of confirmation and ordination. And to convince you, 
that this is the doctrine of our protestant episcopal Church, I 
shall here recite the twenty third article of her creed. 6 It is 
not lawful for any -man to take upon him the office of publick 



28 



preaching, or ministering the sacraments in the congregation, 
before he be lawfully called and sent to execute the same. 
And those we ought to judge lawfully called and sent, which 
be chosen and called to this work by men who have publick au- 
thority given unto them in the congregation, to call and send 
ministers into the Lord's vineyard. ' J 

In the preface to her ordination services, she is still more 
explicit, and declares, 6 It is evident unto all men, diligently 
reading holy scripture and ancient authors, that from the 
Apostles' time there have been these orders of ministers in 
Christ's Church, — Bishops, Priests, and Deacons. Which 
offices were evermore had in such reverend estimation, that no 
man might presume to execute any of them, except he were 
first called, tried, examined, and known to have such qualities 
as are requisite for the same ; and also by publick prayer, with 
imposition oft hands, were approved and admitted thereunto 
by lawful authority. And therefore, to the intent that these 
orders may be continued, and reverently used and esteemed in 
this Church, no man shall be accounted or taken to be a law- 
ful bishop, priest, or deacon, in this Church, or suffered to 
execute any of the said functions, except he be called, tried, 
examined, and admitted thereunto, according to the form here- 
after following, or hath, had episcopal consecration or ordina- 
tion.' 

It is scarcely possible to conceive of language more plain 
and unequivocal than this. It conveys opinions entirely coin- 
cident with my own. An episcopalian upon principle, I do 
most sincerely and conscientiously believe them. Not how- 
ever, because they have been drawn- up by divines eminent for 
their piety, and renowned for their theological learning ; but 
because they have their foundation in the scriptures of truth, 
and are susceptible of a defence, as solid and substantial as 
those scriptures themselves. You must bear with me, breth- 
ren, while I pursue it; while I endeavour < to convince you 
upon this subject, as I am myself convinced, by a species of 
evidence, that taken as a whole, amounts to the demonstration 



29 



produced by figures, which cannot lie. If there be any failure, 
with minds open to rational conviction, it must result from the 
weakness of the advocate, and not from the absence of ample 
proof to be gained from the bible, and most triumphantly cor- 
roborated by the written testimony of the primitive fathers of 
the Church. 

A good logician often commences a train of reasoning with 
the least satisfactory argument, gradually proceeding to the 
more powerful and convincing, and determined as I am to be 
very full, as well as free, in this discussion, I shall adopt the 
same method, and maintain, in the first instance, the scriptural 
origin of the ministry of the Church, upon the ground of ana- 
logy. 

You are probably aware of the almost universal opinion 
prevailing among Christians, concerning types and antitypes. 
Types in theological language are emblems, by which some- 
thing future is prefigured, and antitypes constitute whatever, 
when it actually transpires, is thus prefigured. The former 
are found in the old testament, the latter in the new. Abel, 
for example, was a type of Christ, and is so accounted by the 
Apostle, who tells us, that 6 the blood of sprinkling speaketh 
better things than that of Abel. 5 The intended sacrifice by 
Abraham, of his only son Isaac, is another, and evidently shad- 
ows forth the future sacrifice of the only begotten Son of 
God, upon the accursed tree, in order to secure the redemp- 
tion of the world, and the forgiveness of sins. St. Paul in- 
deed assures us, in general terms, that 6 the law was a shadow 
of good things to come, and not the very image of the things.' 
And this too, at the very time, that he is speaking of the priest- 
hood of Christ, and the offering up of his body upon the cross 
once for all. 

It is consequently, very generally admitted, that all the 
Mosaick institutions were typical of the Christian ; that we 
have rites and ceremonies in the Christian, which exactly cor- 
respond, with those ordained of God, to be used in the Jewish 
Church. Baptism affords a familiar and well known illustra- 



30 



tion. It comes in the place of circumcision, and as such is 
frequently referred to by the sacred writers, and by Christ 
himself, when reproving the blindness of Nicodemus, for not 
comprehending baptism, as the instituted mode jf admission 
into his spiritual kingdom, he asks, 6 Art thou a master of 
Israel, and knowest not these things V Is your memorv so 
treacherous as to forget, that by circumcision you have been 
personally admitted a member of the Church of Israel ? 

The Lord's supper is another. It answers to the feast of 
the passover among the Jews, It was even instituted by our 
Saviour, when he was commemorating that ancient rite, and 
is expressly recognised by St. Paul, as being established in 
its room. < Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: There- 
fore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with 
the leaven of malice and wickedness ; but with the unleavened 
bread of sincerity and truth.' 

With these remarkable coincidences, existing between the 
Churches of the old and new dispensations, we might there- 
fore, brethren, very naturally look for another resemblance in 
the order of men, who were set apart to administer the re- 
spective sacraments of the law and gospel. And we have it. 
In the Jewish Church, there were three orders in the ministry, 
the high priest, priest, and Levite ; the first having greater 
dignity and power, than the second ; and the second, than the 
third. In the Christian Church, the same distinction in rela- 
tion to number and authority has always obtained. It was 
thus during the actual ministry of Christ. He himself occu- 
pied the first rank ; the twelve Apostles, the second ; and the 
seventy disciples, the third. 

And certainly, this argument founded upon analogy, upon 
the types and antitypes of the scriptures, derives peculiar force 
from the consideration, that our blessed Saviour is perpetually 
described, in the epistle to the Hebrews, by the very name, 
wmich was applied to the chief minister among the Jews. — 
Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, 
consider the Apostle and Hi^h Priest of our profession, Christ 



SI 



Jesus and again. 1 seeing then that we have a great High 
Priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, 
let us hold fast our profession. For we have not a High 
Priest, which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infir- 
mities : but was in all points tempted like as we are. yet with- 
out sin.' Here also we are to bear in mind, that as among 
the Jews, so in this case, the very name of High Priest implied 
superiority in station, that there must be inferiour priests, and 
these, as you have seen, were not wanting to complete the 
analogy contended for. They existed in the persons of the 
Apostles and of the seventy disciples. 

And now I ask ; Was ail this a matter of accident or of 
design ! A matter of accident, that Paul called our Saviour, 
a High Priest, and that he himself selected two separate classes- 
of inferiour ministers, the one, for his constant ; the other, for 
his occasional attendants ? To me, it most clearly shows the 
actual accomplishment of Paul's declaration, that the law was 
a shadow of good things to come : a shadow, amongst other 
particulars, of the Church, the sacraments, and the priesthood 
of the gospel. For accident, I abjure the word as applicable 
to any thing performed under the auspices of Christ. For 
design. I embrace it on ground, which cannot be shaken, the 
accommodation of the new to the old dispensation, in every 
instance where purely spiritual things were prefigured. The 
sacraments of the Christian Church are not more essential to 
its existence, than is its priesthood. If a comparison must be 
formed, they are evidently of minor importance. For i how 
shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard ? and 
how shall they hear without a preacher ? and how shall th-ey 
preach, except they be sent ¥ If the former then were typi- 
fied, why not the latter ? Why this supposed distinction, be- 
tween the sacramental means of grace, and the individuals 
authorized to administer them ? The truth is, there is none. 
It never did and it never can exist. Unless you bli id together 
the High Priest of our profession, the Apostles, and seventy 
disciples, unless you deny that there was any official difference 



32 



of rank between them, I have satisfactorily proved, that our 
Saviour Christ had an eye to the three orders in the Jewish 
hierarchy, when at this early period he contemplated the future 
establishment of his own more glorious Church and ministry. 

But at length he, who came to seek and to save that which 
was lost, was taken, and by wicked hands was crucified and 
slain. And being dead and buried, in three days, he was 
6 declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the 
Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.' The 
period had therefore arrived for the final settlement of his vis- 
ible Church. For the space of forty days previous to his 
ascension into heaven, he gave, according to the Acts, 6 com- 
mandments unto the Apostles whom he had chosen:' 6 speak- 
ing of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.' The 
investigation of their nature and import I shall commence on 
the succeeding sabbath ; and greatly shall I be mistaken, if 
they do not afford, when combined with the subsequent prac- 
tice of the Apostles, in the propagation of the gospel ; greatly 
shall I be mistaken, if they do not afford unanswerable proof 
of the sole validity of an episcopal government and ministry 
in the Church of Christ. 

I am however free to confess in relation to that branch of 
it, in which it has become my office to minister in holy things, 
that I love it most for the doctrines, which it maintains ; the 
doctrines which are according to godliness. Here there has 
been no discrepancy upon fundamental principles from the 
beginning, and I trust and believe, that there will be none to 
the end. While many other denominations, growing out of 
the reformation in religion witnessed in the sixteenth century, 
have been inconstant and variable as the wind, a long and un- 
interrupted dissemination of evangelical truth has distinguished 
the annals of the Church. Like the laws of the Medes and 
Persians, her articles change not. Like the Author of that 
gospel, from which they are taken, they may be characterized 
as ' the same yesterday, and to day, and forever. ' 

If you have been deeply smitten with any of the countless 



33 



heresies, which have deformed the Christian work], you can 
find no encouragement to enter or continue within her pale. 
If you have been wrought up to some alarming pitch of reli- 
gious phrensy, in which the feelings have been more inflamed, 
than the judgment enlightened ; here there are no enthusias- 
tick strains of devotion to keep alive the excitement, and no 
fanatick appeals calculated to bewilder, and then completely 
desolate the understanding. If you wish to cherish foul antip- 
athies, to make your fellow Christians, the" objects of scorn 
and odium, the butts of ridicule and derision ; here is no food 
to supply the evil passions of your nature, and no such bigotry, 
as to exclude from offices of love and brotherly kindness, a 
single individual of that human family, for which Christ our 
Saviour died. If you desire to confide in a barren faith, in an 
orthodox belief of doctrines, which are to have no salutarv 
operation upon your lives, producing in you sobriety, right- 
eousness, and godliness ; here you can obtain no countenance : 
here your faith in Jesus must work by love, and spend itself in 
good deeds, or ye can have no part nor lot in this matter ; we 
renounce the hollow hearted Christian, and would earnestly 
strive to be built up in true knowledge, faith, and holiness unto 
salvation. 

But if there be a sorrowing penitent in this assembly ; one 
who feels the intolerable weight of his sins, and would fain 
cast them off, as a sore burden, too heavy to be borne ; one 
who sincerely believes in Jesus, and in the sole efficacy of his 
atonement ; one who so understands his religion, as to be con- 
scious, that he must adorn the doctrine of God his Saviour in 
all things, fashioning his life after his example, and making it 
his invariable rule to be holy as he was holy, and pure as he 
was pure ; here he may find in the ark of Christ's own Church, 
a refuge from the impending deluge of the divine displeasure ; 
here he may become a Christian upon principles, that are 
sound and practical ; here his devotion may be pure, his faith 
rational, his obedience perfect, and the final recompense of 
his reward ensured, without boasting, without thinking himself 

3 



34 



better than other men. without straining at the gnats, and 
swallowing the camels of vice and errour. 

Yes, brethren, for these things it is. that I most love the 
Church, to which I belong. I love her for her moderate views, 
her chastened worship, her scriptural doctrines, and the cath- 
olick spirit of forbearance and good will towards others, which 
she would gladly inculcate upon the members of her commun- 
ion. Wonder not therefore, that I am anxious to make you 
episcopalians upon principle, nor think it strange, that I should 
attach so much importance to an episcopal government and 
ministry, when I do most solemnly believe, that to this very 
reception of and continuance in the apostolick faith and prac- 
tice, we are mainly indebted under God for all those spiritual 
blessings and privileges, which have for so many ages been 
abundantlv showered down upon our Zion : For all those fair 
proportions, and unrivalled beauties, which the towering edifice 
of her faith and holiness presents, and that must at some fu- 
ture period cause her to be universally hailed, as the joy of 
the whole earth ; her righteousness, according to the proph- 
et's prediction, having previously gone forth as brightness, and 
her salvation as a lamp that burnetii. Azviezs. 



SERMON III. 

isaiah lxii. 1. 

For Zion s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusa- 
lem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof 
go forth as brightness and the salvation thereof as a lamp 
that burnetii. 

I have now arrived at that stage in the discussion upon 
Church government, when it will be necessary to be a 



35 



little more explicit upon the true nature of the question, which 
has for a about three centuries agitated the Christian world. 

Let it be remembered then, that the terms, episcopalian and 
presbyterian, are properly and legitimately applied to the 
government or ministry of a Church, rather than to the par- 
ticular doctrines or form of worship, which it embraces. An 
episcopalian is one, who believes in the divine institution of 
three orders in the Christian ministry, having an STiiaxonog or 
bishop for the first and highest. A presbyterian denies this 
distinction of three orders, and contends that there is but one, 
the order of a noeaGv zeoog or presbyter, meaning the same 
with our english word, elder. And I mention this circumstance, 
with the view of removing an erroneous impression existing in 
the minds of many, that the advocates of episcopacy are few 
in number, and on this account somewhat arrogant in their 
pretensions. When in reality, were you to divide the Christ- 
ian world into twenty equal parts, eighteen, if not nineteen 
twentieths would be found ranged on our side of this impor- 
tant question. 

The Roman Catholicks wherever situated ; the very exten- 
sive denomination called the Greek Church in Russia and 
Turkey in Europe, and in some parts of Asia, including the 
Holy Land itself ; the Armenians also of Asia ; the Abys- 
sinians of ilfrica ; the Swedish and many of the German 
Lutherans ; such as belong to the established Churches in 
England and Ireland, with a respectable Church in Scot- 
land ; all these, brethren, are as much episcopalians as we 
are ; they maintain as strongly the apostolick institution 
of episcopacy, and reject as openly every other form of 
Church government, because in their opinion founded solely 
upon the basis of human authority. I might add to this 
catalogue, the large and zealous body of Christians scattered 
over our own country, and the land of our fathers, known 
by the name of Methodists, who are episcopalians in princi- 
ple ; although for reasons which will hereafter be briefly sub- 
mitted, we are constrained to consider them, unpossessed of 



36 



the requisite authority, in other words, of what we claim to be 
a valid episcopal ministry 

Nor must I fail to remark, that the great body of seceders 
from the Church, have the same common right to a common 
feature in their ecclesiastical polity. Presbyterianism, so far 
as one order of ministers, and one only, is concerned, includes 
the baptist, the congregational, the unitarian, the universalist, 
and other Churches, as well as the highly respected portion 
of believers, who have chosen to designate themselves by that 
particular title. They are all the advocates of ministerial par- 
ity or equality: We, on the contrary, of imparity or inequal- 
ity. They assert, that there is but one .order of ministers in 
Christ's Church, all having the same power and authority. 
We say, that there are three orders, and that these are so ar- 
ranged, that the lower cannot perform the prescribed duties 
of the higher * 

Bear therefore th:r statement in your memories. It is 
what civilians would term the very gist of the controversy. 
By it, I am willing to stand or fall in the appeal, which I 
shall make to the testimony of the scriptures. If episcopacy 
does not meet with full and decisive authority there, I am 
content to abandon it, or at least to retain it, on the oround 
of expediency alone. For if God has instituted no peculiar 
system of ordaining, and perpetuating the ministerial servants 
of Christ, it must be obvious to every reflecting mind, that 
we are left to our own choice and discretion, that we are in 
fact authorized by him to found what Church or what Church- 
es we please, and to appoint over them what minister or min- 
isters, it seemeth to us good. To this liberty I could not 
urge one single objection, I would agree to it, most heartily 
and most conscientiously. But hath God said, and shall we 
not do it? This is the question. Hath God given to his Son 
but one Church for his bride, and shall we dare to present 
him with many? Shall we dare to tender him a kind of divine 
polygamy, and please ourselves with the idea, that he himself 
is as highly pleased and gratified with the offer ? St, Paul ? in 



37 



his time, wouldhave exclaimed, 'God forbid V and I love to 
be of the party of Paul ; I love the Church that he loved, and 
in her defence would freely exhaust my feeble powers of ar- 
gument and persuasion. 

In my last discourse, I closed with the strong probability, in 
favour of our three orders in the ministry, derived from the 
striking analogies subsisting between the Jewish and Christ- 
ian Churches ; and indeed showed that the high priest, 
priests, and Levites of the former were typical of the High 
Priest of our profession, the Apostles, and seventy disciples, 
whom he early gathered about his person. I also reminded 
you of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, and pro- 
posed to bring forward on the present occasion, the principal 
subject, which appeared to occupy his thoughts and conversa^- 
tion, during the forty days immediately preceding his glorious 
ascension into heaven. It was his Church. All Christians 
concur in this opinion, and are ready to admit, that at this 
time he did commission his Apostles to establish it upon the 
earth, wherever indeed they were directed to propagate the 
gospel of the kingdom. 

The words of that commission I shall not now repeat, as there 
will be occasion to use them hereafter ; but rather turn your 
attention to a position, that must command implicit belief from 
all, who truly reverence the character and authority of our 
Saviour ; who acknowledge, that he was the Son of God and 
the messenger of his grace to the children of men. It is this. 
Whatever the Apostles did, in virtue of the commission of their 
Lord, to preach the gospel and baptize all nations, and after 
they were endued with power from on high, by the visible de- 
scent of the Holy Ghost upon them, in the shape of cloven 
tongues, as of fire ; whatever they thus did, in relation to the 
Church and its ministry is equally binding and imperative up- 
on us, as if it had been performed by our blessed Saviour in per- 
son. A contrary doctrine would destroy the inspiration, and 
consequently the authority of the four gospels, and of all the 
epistles, inasmuch as they were composed subsequently to his 

3* 



38 



ascension. We should have nothing certain, nothing true ; no 
baptism, no supper of the Lord, no ministry, no Church, no 
cross of Christ, in a word, no religion. But the Holy Ghost 
was given to them, that they might be guarded from all 
errour ; their divine Lord promised to be with them always, 
that their acts might be. his, and command the reverence and 
submission of mankind on his, and not on their authority. 

Hence when Peter, in company with John, had healed the 
lame man, and the multitude around greatly wondered, he 
addressed them in these words, 6 Ye men of Israel, why mar- 
vel ye at this ? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though 
by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk ? 
The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God 
of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus ;' 6 And his name, 
through faith in his name, hath made this man strong, whom 
ye see and know.' Paul also in writing to the Corinthians, 
concerning the ministry received by himself and his brethren, 
expressly asserts, 6 that God was in Christ, reconciling the 
world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them ; 
and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.' 6 Now 
then,' he continues, 6 we are ambassadors for Christ, as though 
God did beseech you by us : we pray you in Christ's stead, be 
ye reconciled to God.' And again, speaking of the holy eu- 
cliarist, and the proper spirit and manner, in which it should 
be celebrated, 6 1 have received of the Lord that which also I 
delivered unto you.' By such strong and convincing language, 
we therefore easily perceive the interpretation given by the 
Apostles to the command of Christ, ' Go ye therefore, and 
teach all nations,' They attempted nothing but through his 
power. They did nothing, but what he had expressly directed 
them to do. 

Let us examine then the ministry they established, and see 
if it does not in all particulars correspond with our own, with 
the three orders of bishops, priests, and deacons, and not with 
the one order of presbyters or elders. [ shall begin with the 
lowest, because its investigation will not require as much time, 



39 



as the highest or episcopal rank. In -the ordination service of 
deacons, the ordaining bishop addresses the candidate in these 
words, 6 It appertaineth to the office of a deacon, in the Church 
where he shall be appointed to serve, to assist the priest in 
divine service, and specially when he ministereth the holy com- 
munion) and to help him in the distribution thereof; and to 
read holy scriptures and homilies, 5 meaning sermons 6 in the 
Church ; and to instruct the youth in the catechism ; in the 
absence of the priest to baptize infants ; and to preach, if he 
be admitted thereto by the bishop, And furthermore, it is his 
office, where provision is so made, to search for the sick, poor, 
and impotent people of the parish, to intimate their estates, 
names, and places where they dwell, unto the curate, that by 
his exhortation they may be relieved with the alms of the pa- 
rishioners, or others : Will you do this gladly and willingly? 5 To 
which the candidate answers, 4 1 will so do by the help of God. 5 
But where is the authority for all this ; for ordaining a dea- 
con, and specifying these duties, as appertaining to his office ? 
I find it in various parts of the new testament, and particu- 
larly in the sixth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, to whose 
minute recital, I must necessarily claim your indulgent atten- 
tion. 6 And in those days, when the number of the disciples 
was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians 
against the Hebrews, because their widow 7 s were neglected in 
the daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude 
of the disciples unto them, and said, li is not reason that we 
should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, 
brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, 
full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over 
this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, 
and to the ministry of the word. And the saying pleased the 
whole multitude : and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith 
and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nica- 
nor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte of 
Antioch ; whom they set before the Apostles : and when they 
had prayed, they laid their hands on them.'' 



40 



And now in justification of our Church ; if it should be 
asked, Why do you ordain deacons ? It appears, that the Apos- 
tles appointed men to this office and ministry, 6 and when they 
had prayed, they laid their hands on them.' If it should be 
asked, Why do you call them, deacons ? They were diuxoveiv, 
that is, to 6 serve' tables, and deacon, from the Greek word, 
diaxorog, signifies a servant, while Paul, in his epistle to Tim- 
othy, gives him certain directions about 6 the office of a dea- 
con.' If it should be asked, Why should they attend to the 
sick, poor, and impotent people of the parish, where provision 
is made for their relief, as it is with us, by alms contributed 
at the holy communion, where deacons assist the priest, in 
distributing the bread and wine, thus serving at the highest 
of all tables, the table of the Lord ? It is in conformity to the 
original cause of their appointment, the 4 murmuring of the 
Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows wens 
neglected in the daily ministration.' If it should be asked, 
Why are they permitted to read sermons in the Church, and to 
instruct youth in the catechism, and to preach the gospel, if 
admitted thereto by the bishop, as is always done ? It is be- 
cause the first seven deacons were to be men, full of the Holy 
Ghost and wisdom, and because it is said, immediately after 
their ordination, that Stephen, one of their number, 6 full of 
faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the 
people,' so that 6 certain of t4ie synagogue,' 6 disputing w T ith' 
him, 6 were not able to resist the wisdom and spirit by which 
he spake ;' and afterwards, for the very reason, that he persist- 
ed in preaching, the people, whom they stirred up, stoned him 
to death, falling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive 
my spirit.' If it should be asked, Why are they allowed to 
baptize, as well as to preach ? It will be found in the eighth 
chapter of the Acts, that Philip, another of the seven deacons, 
' went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto 
them ;' and 6 when they believed Philip preaching the things 
concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ-, 
they were baptized, both men and women.' If it should be 



41 



asked, Was not the office temporary in its nature, and not de- 
signed to be perpetuated in the Church of Christ ? I answer, 
that it was first established, because 6 the number of the disci- 
ples was multiplied,' and that this reason for its existence is 
far more obvious at present, than it was at the period of its 
original institution. I also find that long after this, Paul ad- 
dressed one of his epistles 6 to all the saints in Christ Jesus 
which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons.' I find 
in another directed to Timothy, that he writes, 6 Likewise must 
the deacons be grave, not double-tongued, not given to much 
wine, not greedy of filthy lucre ; holding the mystery of the 
faith in a pure conscience.' And to show, that they were to 
be admitted by him to this ministry, Paul adds, 6 let these also 
first be proved ; then let them use the office of a deacon, being 
found blameless.' 

And now, brethren, it is my turn to ask, if I have not here 
presented you with a body of scriptural evidence upon this 
subject, which is utterly at variance with the modern idea of 
there being, but one order of Christ's ministers ? If I have 
not shown you, beyond all reasonable doubt, that the office- of 
a deacon, as exercised in our Church, is conformable in every 
particular to the model furnished by the Apostles, and by them 
intended to guide and control the practice of Christians to re- 
motest time ? It has been thus with episcopalians in every age 
and nation, and you cannot but perceive, that they have ample 
authority from the source of all authority to justify their 
course. 

What right then have men to build up Churches where this 
office is not recognised, or if recognised, only by name ; a 
name, which you know is arbitrary in its nature, and that of 
itself signifies nothing V It is office, that confers right and 
power, the lawful, prescribed acts of those, who hold it, which 
serve to distinguish them from all other individuals. Tell me 
not then, that there are deacons in the Churches, to which I 
refer, as well as among episcopalians. Those Churches do 
not allow them to be ministers of the gospel, for this would 



42 



add a second order to their ministry, and prove an obvious 
surrender of their favourite doctrine, that there should be but 
one. Tell me not of such nominal deacons. They are not 
the deacons of the scriptures ; they do not baptize, as did 
Philip : they do not preach the gospel, as did Philip and Ste- 
phen ; they are not separated to this office and ministry, by the 
imposition of hands, as were all those ordained by the Apos- 
tles. 

And what right, I repeat, what authority is there, for thi3 
extraordinary innovation upon the original constitution of the 
Church ? I reply that there is none. None, except that, which 
is to be traced to the caprice and invention of men. None, 
which would not equally justify us in abolishing the two sacra- 
ments of the gospel, as some denominations of Christians have 
alreadv done. None, which would not fairly warrant the re- 
mark, if we' had no personal knowledge of them, that some 
Christians appear to consider themselves wiser than the Apos- 
tles, better acquainted than they were with the mind of Christ, 
and therefore disposed to mould the Church and its ministry, 
in accordance with their happier views and sounder judgment. 

I regret to be obliged to speak thus plainly and decisively ; 
but the cause of truth and of Christ imperatively requires it. I 
am for rendering honour to whom honour is due. I know and 
am persuaded, that there is a large amount of piety and devo- 
tion to religion, clearly discernible among those, who reject 
what we esteem to be the ministry, instituted under the direc- 
tion of our Saviour Christ. But still, none of these things 
move me to abandon it ; none of these prevail with me to give 
in my adhesion to any body of believers, however respectable, 
who have renounced the holy office of a deacon, as it was 
instituted and maintained in the apostolick and primitive age. 
He, who departs in one respect from such institutions, sets a 
dangerous example to others, to depart in many. So long as 
it is practised, there can be no reasonable hope of holding -the 
faith, in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace and in righteous- 
ness of life.' 



43 



But tc proceed : The second order of ministers in our Church 
is that, to which we apply indiscriminately the names of priest, 
presbyter, and elder. They are taken from the lowest order, 
upon the principle advanced by St. Paul, 6 they that have used 
the office of a deacon well, purchase to themselves a good 
degree,' in other words, are worthy of promotion. Their or- 
dination is frequently mentioned in the scriptures. Paul and 
Barnabas, 'when they had ordained them elders, TtQsvfiv'Tegovg, 
in every Church, and had prayed with fasting, they commend- 
ed them to the Lord, on whom they believed.' And many 
other passages of the same import might be easily adduced. 
But it is not necessary. The institution of this office by the 
Apostles is not denied. There is here no difference of opin- 
ion between us and our brethren of other Churches. All admit 
its original existence. They however contending, that it is 
the only order of Christ's ministers : We, that it is the second, 
that it is subordinate to that of bishops, and without any valid 
authority to perform the rite of ordination. 

So far, therefore, brethren, I have established by clear and 
unanswerable proof ; first, the apostolick office of a deacon, 
and second, by admission as well as proof, the equally apostol- 
ick office of a presbyter or priest. I come, therefore, to the 
more interesting question, Was there another ? In one point 
of view, there are none that can, or that do deny it. For the 
twelve Apostles were all living, at the time, that they ordained 
eiders in every Church, and laid their hands upon the seven 
deacons. And as their office is universally acknowledged to 
have been superiour to either of the others, it would appear, 
that during their existence at least, the analogy drawn from 
the Jewish priesthood is perfect and entire, w r anting nothing* 
The Apostle was the antitype of the high priest ; the elder, of 
the priest ; and the deacon, of the Levite. 

But the opponents of episcopacy assert, that the apostolick 
office died with the twelve, and with Paul, called to be an 
Apostle, in a miraculous manner. We, on the contrary, most 
earnestly and zealously contend against this supposed termin- 



44 



ation of their office. We maintain, as all antiquity were ac- 
customed to maintain, that it still exists in the person of every 
regularly ordained bishop ; and although in such of your num- 
ber, as may have bestowed little attention to the constitution 
of the Christian ministry, this opinion may excite no ordinary 
emotions of surprise ; yet do I flatter myself, that ere the 
present discourses shall have been concluded, so powerful and 
convincing will be the weight of evidence in its favour, borne 
both by the scriptures and the writers of the primitive Church, 
that these emotions will change their object, and be directed 
to such, as have the confidence and temerity to deny its truth. 

Before, however, I proceed in the investigation, it will be 
proper to place the subject in its true light. By maintaining 
the continued existence of the apostolick office, you are not 
therefore to imagine, that we claim for those, who now enjoy 
it, the supernatural power of working miracles, or of speaking 
various languages. Such power belongs not to them, nor, as 
I am free to declare, to any other mortals, whatever they may 
believe, or profess to believe. 

We rather make, and, as I conceive, very justly, a material 
distinction between the ordinary and the extraordinary gifts 
originally conferred upon the Apostles. The first or the or- 
dinary are to be found in the commission granted them by 
their divine Lord. As it appears in the gospels, according 
to John and Mark, there is nothing that at this time demands 
our attention, or that is opposed to the more full and explicit 
terms, in which it is recorded in Matthew. i Jesus came and 
spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heav- 
en and earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing 
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the 
Holv Ghost ; teaching them to observe ail things whatsoever 
I have commanded you : and, lo, I am with you always, even 
unto the end of the world.' This then is the commission, 
which instituted their office, which constituted them the Apos- 
tles of our Lord Jesus Christ. And read it, brethren, as often 
as vou please, it will be found to contain no allusion whatever 



45 



to miraculous powers ; to nothing, which is not at this very 
day, professedly enjoyed and exercised by the ministering ser- 
vants of Christ. It does not even include the power of ad- 
ministering the Lord's supper by name. But only in general 
terms, it directs the eleven, to preach the gospel, to establish 
Churches, to admit members therein by baptism, and to per- 
petuate its existence by a ministry, as duly authorized to teach 
others, as they themselves were authorized. 

But in relation to their extraordinary gifts, these were con- 
ferred upon them at a subsequent period, upon the memorable 
day of pentecost, and made no part of the office, into which 
they were inducted. They could have taught all that Christ 
had commanded, they could have baptized and ordained, if 
these had never been granted. Not indeed with the same 
power and success : For at that early age, it was unquestion- 
ably of the utmost importance to possess the gift of tongues, 
in order to be able to address the nations in their respective 
languages ; and the working of miracles, in order to convince 
them, that they were teachers sent from God. But when this 
was once accomplished, the powers themselves ceased with 
the necessity, which had called them into existence. They 
are to be considered, as so many admirable qualifications, 
which the Apostles enjoyed for evangelizing the world ; but 
they were no more indissoiubly attached to their office, than 
were the particular talents and statesmanlike qualities of either 
of our former presidents, indissoiubly attached to the station, 
they filled. 

To convince you that I am right in this argument, and that 
it is only a popular errour, which supposes the apostleship to 
have been abolished, owing to the removal of supernatural 
powers, you are to remember, that those powers were exerted 
by .many other individuals besides the twelve. This was the 
case with the presbyters. In James, there is this passage ; 
1 Is any sick among you ? let him call for the elders of the 
Church ; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil 
in the name of the Lord ; and the prayer of faith shall save the 

4 



46 



sick, and the Lord shall raise him up ; and if he have com* 
mitted sins, they shall be forgiven him.' Stephen and Philip 
were only deacons, and yet the former, 6 full of faith and pow- 
er, did great wonders and miracles among the people,' While 
of the latter, it is said, that 6 the people with one accord, gave 
heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing 
the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with 
loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them : 
and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were heal- 
ed.' Are you therefore prepared to renounce the ofiices 
themselves, because the modern presbyter and deacon can lay 
no claim to the performance of such wonderful works ? Let 
us see if the same principle would not carry you to a yet more 
revolting inference. 

For private Christians also appear to have shared with the 
Apostles in' these miraculous gifts. In the last chapter of 
Mark, it is said ; 6 These signs shall follow them that believe : 
In my name shall they cast out devils ; they shall speak with 
new tongues ; they shall take up serpents : and if they drink 
any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them ; they shall lay hands 
on the sick, and they shall recover,' In the nineteenth chap- 
ter of the Acts, it is written ; ' And it came to pass, that, 
while Apoilos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed through 
the upper coasts, came to Ephesus ; and finding certain dis- 
ciples, he said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost 
since ye believed ? And they said unto him, we have not so 
much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he 
said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized ? And 
they said, Unto John's Baptism. Then said Paul, John 
verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto 
the people, that they should believe on him which should come 
after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they 
were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, And when 
Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on 
them ; and they spake with tongues and prophesied. And 
all the men were about twelve.' Are you therefore prepared 



47 



to say, that there are no private Christians now, because there 
is not one single modern professor, who can pretend to have 
the supernatural gifts of healing and of tongues ? I antici- 
pate your thoughts. You cannot but shrink from such a con- 
clusion, with the utmost repugnance. You cannot but per- 
ceive, that the preceding examples clearly evince the imbecil- 
ity of that argument, against the continued existence of the 
apostolick office, which is founded on the present inability of 
those, who exercise its ordinary functions, to work miracles 
and speak with tongues. 

I shall therefore, in my next discourse, proceed to prove 
that it never has been abolished ; that it still continues to ex- 
ist ; and that we may fully rely on the word of Christ, that it 
always will. In the meantime, let me assure you, that in the 
prosecution of this inquiry, I have no sinister designs to ac- 
complish. If it were possible for me to entertain them, I can 
perceive no probability of their being realized. With the 
mere creature of popularity and expediency, it were apparently 
far better upon such a theme to impose the seal of perpetual 
silence*upon the lips. But preferring to be guided by other 
and better motives, preferring the cause of truth, as the only 
cause, that can give me comfort in a dying hour, and especially 
at the dreadful day of judgment, I have determined to venture 
all, upon the resolute though charitable vindication of the true 
Church of Christ. * For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, 
and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteous- 
ness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof 
as a lamp that burnetii.' 

If this course exposes me to cavil, I have learnt from Pauk 
that 'if I yet pleased men,! should not be the servant of Christ.' 
If it fastens upon me the suspicion of corrupt and unworthy 
motives, I have obtained from the same source, this invaluable 
lesson, 6 with me it is a very small thing that I should be judg- 
ed of you, or of man's judgment ; yea, I judge not my own 
self; for I know nothing by myself ; yet am I not hereby jus- 
tified : but he that judgeth me is the Lord.' 



48 



Upon principle, I am indeed extremely tenacious of freedom 
of thought and freedom of expression, and claiming it for 
myself. I am equally willing to have it enjoyed by others. Not 
however with the view of wantonly outraging the feelings of 
any Christian, nor for the purpose of derogating in the slight- 
est degree from his attainments in grace, or his sincere devo- 
tion to the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom. For what 
could be gained by this conduct here, and even upon the sup- 
position that there is much, what is to be gained hereafter ? 
Nothing, absolutely nothing, unless it be the privilege of 
mourning, through a long eternity, the fearful recompense 
justly awarded to bitter revilings and ungodly malice. I am 
therefore steadfastly resolved, after the example and in obedi- 
ence to the express mandate of Christ, to love all men, and 
particularly all Christians of whatsoever name and whatsoever 
sect. 

It will be done, not by fighting their battles and espousing 
their errours, not by attributing to them the possession of that 
true Church, from which they have erred, not knowing the 
scriptures upon this point, however deeply they may be^versed 
in their doctrines, and however freely they may have imbibed 
their spirit, in others ; but I will show it, by cherishing to- 
wards them that kind of charity, which imputes good inten- 
tions ? even where it is incapable of perceiving entire obedi- 
ence to divine institutions. I will show it, by cordially invi- 
ting them, as I now do, as I always have done, and shall con- 
tinue to do, to unite with us, at the table of the Lord, in 
partaking of 4 the cup of blessing which we bless,' and 6 the 
bread which we break.' 

More than this, it is not reasonable for them to expect or to 
demand. More than this, I could not conscientiously advise 
an episcopalian of my own principles to tender. But. to this 
extent, to the extent of loving them, even as Christ hath loved 
us, do you, brethren, as you value the future approbation of 
heaven, do you always exhibit the true Christian temper and 
spirit of benevolence and forbearance. And may God, of his 



49 



infinite mercy, soon cause all our divisions to be healed ; by 
his Spirit, working in due season, may all believers, rallying 
round one common standard of faith and practice, soon be- 
come united in the one holy catholick or universal Church ; 
and to Him, the Father, to the Son, and Holy Ghost, three 
persons and one God, shall be ascribed everlasting praises, 
world without end. Amen. 



SERMON IV. 

isaiah Ixii. 1. 

For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace , and for Jerusalem's 
sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth 
as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that 
burneth. 

lis my last discourse I succeeded, brethren, in proving from 
the scriptures the divine institution of the office of a deacom 
I showed you, both from the scriptures and by admission, the 
equally authorized office of a presbyter or elder, from which 
so large and respectable a body of protestants derive their 
name, and commenced my observations upon the highest or 
apostolick office, by endeavouring to obviate the commonly 
received objection to its continued existence, which is found- 
ed upon the acknowledged absence of supernatural gifts, on 
the part of those, who now claim to exercise its powers. 

The argument I cannot but think was full and satisfactory. 
It separated the office and its pi escribed duties from the mi- 
raculous properties, with which the twelve Apostles were en- 
dowed, in order to discharge their ministry to the greater 
glory of God, and the more certain propagation of the gospel. 

It clearly negatived the popular doctrine upon the subject, 

4* 



50 



inasmuch as this would prove too much ; it would prove, that 
if at this time there are no Apostles, because there are none 
to perform miracles and to speak with tongues ; neither can 
there be presbyters, nor deacons, nor private Christians, be 
cause they are now similarly incapacitated, although instances 
of the same powers, having been once conferred upon them, 
are recorded in the scriptures. 

I advance therefore in the discussion, and consider the lan- 
guage employed by our Saviour, at the separation of the eleven 
to the work of the ministry, as affording no slight evidence of 
the perpetuity of the apostolick office. In St. John, the words 
are these, ' Peace be unto you : as my Father hath sent me, 
even so send I you.' And here, brethren, you are to bear in 
mind, that this passage must necessarily refer to those powers 
only, which can be borne by frail and sinful beings, like our- 
selves. It does not mean, for example, that because the Fa- 
ther sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world, to taste of 
death for every man, and, by that death upon the cross, to 
make a full and complete atonement for all sin ; it does not 
mean, that because of this, Christ sent the eleven to work out 
the redemption already worked, and endure the cross and 
death already endured. For such performances, finite beings 
would appear to have been utterly inadequate, and had>it been 
otherwise, having been once accomplished, no possible neces- 
sity could exist for another sacrifice and expiation for human 
guilt. 

We must consequently look for some other solution to this 
imposing delegation of pow ? er. Something within the scope 
of man's inferiour capacity and character. Hence I confine 
it to those acts of the ministry, which the eleven exercised, 
as has been already shown you, in Christ's stead* It is as 
though he had said, As my Father hath sent me to preach the 
gospel and baptize, to build up the Church and establish its 
ministry, even so send I you, duly empowered in my name to 
discharge all these duties ; as he sent me to make yoc Apos- 
tles, even so send I you, with full power and authority to 



51 



confer the same dignity on others. If this be not a fair and 
correct paraphrase, I know not what is. I know not what 
else could have been possibly designed by our blessed Redeem- 
er. Whatever Catholicks may assert, Protestants will never 
admit, that the oblation upon the cross can be again offered. 
Whatever favourite doctrine they may have drawn from the 
subsequent words of Christ, 6 Receive ye the Holy Ghost: 
Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them ; 
and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained :' Protest- 
ants will never admit, that persons, who afterwards acknowl- 
edged themselves to be 6 men of like passions,' with their 
hearers, had any other power to forgive sins, than that, which 
was declaratory and not absolute ; that, which consisted in 
preaching repentance, as the medium of obtaining forgiveness 
of God, through Christ, and not auricular confessions, in order 
to receive it, in virtue of even apostolick power. You must 
therefore perceive the strict propriety of the inference I have 
drawn. You must perceive, that, when in the very act of 
creating Apostles, our Lord used the emphatick language, 6 as 
my Father hath sent me, even so send I you,' he certainly in- 
tended, that their apostleship should be transmitted to others, 
with the like authority on their part to transmit it ad infinitum. 

And this, brethren, is a conclusion, abundantly verified by 
the latter clause of their grand commission, as it is given in 
Matthew ; ' Lo I am with you always, even unto the end of 
the world,' For we may say of all the original Apostles, as 
one of them early said of the patriarch David, they are 6 both 
dead and buried ;' their spirits no more inhabit the bodies, 
that are now mouldered into dust and oblivion. Our Saviour 
could not therefore have promised to be with them, individu- 
ally and personally, unto the end of the world ; with the very 
men composed of spirit, soul, and body, whom he on this occa- 
sion addressed. It would have been falsified by the event. It 
would have derogated alike from his prescience and his truth. 
For the world yet exists, and in the world, those Apostles iw 
longer live, and move and have their being. But apply the 



52 



promise, as it should be applied, to the office they sustained ; 
consider this to have been prolonged from their age to our 
own ; consider it to have been regularly rilled in uninterrupt- 
ed succession, throughout this long tract of time : and that 
k will thus continue to be occupied, until time shall be no 
more ; and I find it easy to comprehend, as well as to believe, 
I find it peculiarly grateful and encouraging to reflect, that in 
the continued existence of its highest, apostolick order, the 
presence of Christ is still enjoyed in the ministry of the Church; 
that he still loves and fights for it, as his own glorious Church; 
that he still watches over it, with all a bridegroom's fond af- 
fection, and, through all future time, will make his own saying 
faithful and true, that ' the gates of hell shall not prevail 
against it.' 

But these arguments, it may be said, are mere inferences. 
The declarations in question do not, in so many words, an- 
nounce the perpetuity of the apostolick office. I reply, that if 
this objection be valid, it can be urged as strongly against 
every order of the priesthood, and thus leave the Church with- 
out a single authorized minister of Christ. I also appeal to 
the scriptures, and- to the close of that period of ecclesiastical 
history, which they embrace, can exhibit the names of other 
Apostles, than those originally appointed by our Saviour. Of 
Judas, one of the twelve, it is even 6 written in the book of 
Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell 
therein ; and, his bishoprick let another take.' Hence the 
very first act, performed by the eleven, after the ascension of 
Jesus, was to supply the vacancy occasioned by the treason 
and death of Judas. In relation to two candidates selected 
for this purpose, 6 they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which 
knowest the hearts of all men, show whether of these two thou 
hast chosen, that he may take part of this ministry and apostle- 
ship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go 
to his own place. And they gave forth their lots : and the 
lot fell upon Matthias ; and he was numbered with the eleven 
Apostles.' He shared their title and their power. He was 



5.3 

ho more inferiour to them, than if he had been called and 
appointed by Christ in person. And was not Paul inducted 
into the same office ? Was not he equal to his brethren, who 
repeatedly styles himself, 4 an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the 
will of God who expressly says, ' I suppose I was not a whit 
behind the very chiefest Apostles and again, ( are they min- 
isters of Christ ? (I speak as a fool,) I am more V 

How evidently then do these two instances of Matthias and 
Paul negative the idea of the apostolick office being limited, 
as to number, or person, or time. They were not of the twelve 
first selected by Christ. For a long period after this blessed 
Being expired upon the cross, the latter was a persecutor of 
the Christians, and was only converted to the faith, he so nobly 
preached and adorned, by the miraculous power of God. 

And should it be contended, that these were extraordinary 
cases, and not to be used as precedents in the future organi- 
zation of the ministry, I have vet to present you with other 
names familiar to the readers of the sacred volume. In the 
fourteenth chapter of the Acts, divine worship was about to 
be offered to two of the evangelists, under the idea, expressed 
by the people, 6 in the speech of Lycaonia, the gods are come 
down to us in the likeness of men.' 6 Which, when the Apos- 
tles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and 
ran in among the people, crying out, and saying ; sirs, why 
do ye these things ?' Barnabas, therefore, was an Apostle. 
In this case and some others, by that title, his name is asso- 
ciated with and even precedes that of the great Paul. But 
how is this to be reconciled with the favourite opinion of some, 
that the office itself was restricted, and incapable of being 
transmitted to others ? How is that opinion to be reconciled 
with this passage, in the epistle of Paul to the Philippians, 6 I 
supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, 
and companion in labour, and fellow-soldier, but your mes- 
senger,' that is, your Apostle, for in the original Greek, the 
word is ' anogolovS although it is here translated according 
to its literal import, 6 one who is sent,' ' a messenger?' 



54 



Surely, brethren, these quotations, and many others of a 
similar character might be adduced ; surely they are utterly 
at variance with the alleged confinement of the apostieship to 
the twelve, to Matthias and Paul, or with its final extinction 
in them. Names, in themselves, are indeed extremely vague 
and uncertain ; but in these cases, we find Epaphroditus de- 
nominated 6 my brother, and companion in labour, and fellow- 
soldier,' as well as 6 your Apostle. 5 We not only find the 
plural of this title applied to Barnabas and Paul conjunctively; 
but we discover throughout their travels, as recorded in the 
Acts, that they always exercised co-ordinate pow r er and juris- 
diction to the very moment, when ' the contention, 5 concerning 
the conduct of the evangelist Mark, ' was so sharp between 
them, that they departed asunder one from the other/ We 
discover, that at this separation, Barnabas took Mark, and 
Paul chose Silas, and that neither arrogated to himself the 
right or the power of regulating the conduct, or controlling 
the opinions of the other. 

And here it will be necessary to remind you of one of the 
most material points, connected with this discussion. They, 
who claim that presbyters are now the only order of ministers 
in Christ's Church, are reduced to the necessity of maintain- 
ing, that those presbyters enjoy the authority of calling others 
to the same office, by the imposition of hands. We, on the 
contrary, firmly contend, that this authority was peculiar to the 
Apostles ; that they alone exercised it in the scriptures, and 
finally transferred it, not to the presbyters, but to their imme- 
diate successors in the apostieship. To prove this, we have 
both the negative testimony of the inspired volume, wherein 
not one single instance of presbyterian ordination can be found; 
and the positive, which shows, that all ordinations were per- 
formed by the Apostles in person ; either by the twelve, by 
Paul, called to be an Apostle in an extraordinary manner, oi 
by those, who were subsequently raised to this pre-eminent 
dignity. For example, the twelve * laid their hands' upon the 
seven deacons, who were never known to perform the like 



55 



ceremony. The Apostles, Paul and Barnabas, < ordained 
them elders in every Church,' who were equally scrupulous 
with the deacons, in never presuming to assume the same 
power. 

But what places this subject, beyond all reasonable doubt, 
is to be found in the epistles to Timothy and Titus, particu- 
larly in those directed to Timothy, who is therein regarded 
by the writer, Paul, as exercising apostolick power and gov- 
ernment, in the Church of Ephesus. I know, indeed, that 
the apostolick character of Timothy is denied by the oppo- 
nents of episcopacy, and that they are extremely anxious to 
have it believed, that he was only a presbyter or, at most, an 
evangelist ; although this last is a title, that designates no one 
office in particular ; inasmuch as it signifies 6 a preacher,' 
' the messenger of good news,' and is consequently equally 
applicable to the Apostles, elders, and deacons, all of whom 
preached ' glad tidings of good things.' But to show you, that 
Timothy was superiour to a presbyter, and therefore an Apos- 
tle, with all the rights and privileges attached to that office, 
you are to remember, that it is presupposed by these remark- 
able expressions, ' Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that 
thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on 
af my hands;' and again, 6 the things that thou hast heard of me 
among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, 
who shall be able to teach others also.' All which evidently 
relates to ordination, and not to instruction in doctrine or 
practice ; because these things were to be committed, not to 
the ignorant and vicious pagan of Ephesus, in the hope of 
producing his conversion ; but to such as were already Christ- 
ians ; 6 to faithful men,' who in virtue of this commission were 
to do that, which they had not power to do before, to preach 
the gospel and ' teach others also.' 

With this explanation agrees that other admonition of Paul, 
'Lay hands suddenly on no man.' Wherein you perceive, 
that the full power of ordination is granted to Timothy, and 
the greatest caution enjoined, lest there should be others, than 



56 

the truly faithful, to obtain the ministry of holy things. But 
when or where, were such charges ever conveyed to the mere 
elders of the scriptures ? Some of that order were at this 
identical period resident at Ephesus, and Paul on his journey 
to Jerusalem, long before the epistle was written, had sent 
from Miletus to Ephesus, and called the elders of the Church ; 
and when they came, instead of charging them, as he charged 
\ Timothy, on the subject of ordination, he never referred to it ; 

he addressed them altogether upon the subordinate duties of 
the ministry. And how are we to account for this, if elders 
were in reality entitled to ordain ? How can we possibly 
account for this stpange omission, on the part of Paul, in a 
particular, upon which he was afterwards, so very solicitous 
and so very minute ? Especially, when he had sent for those 
elders from Miletus, for the express purpose of giving them 
his last advice, and had pressed it home upon their hearts 
with such power and affection, that ' they all wept sore, 
and fell upon Paul's neck, and kissed him ; sorrowing most 
of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his 
face no more.' You cannot believe that he had previously 
counselled them on the subject, when they were admitted to 
the eldership. It would involve the absurdity, if Timothy 
was only an elder like themselves, of sending him to Ephesus 
to ordain, where elders already existed, having equal authority, 
and equally explicit directions from Paul, as to the manner 
in which they were to discharge this important act of their 
ministry. I am therefore persuaded that they never had such 
counsel. I am persuaded on this ground ; and for the addi- 
tional reason, that elders never had such power conferred upon 
them. It is never attributed to them in the scriptures, in the 
Acts or in the epistles ; and it was never exercised. In the 
much controverted passage, 1 Neglect not the gift that is in 
thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on 
of the hands of the presbytery ;' the preposition 6 with,' at 
most, merely implies concurrence, and not the creative power 
asserted in the parallel passage, already quoted, ' Wherefore 



57 



I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, 
which is in thee by the putting on of my hands,' Timothy, on 
the other hand, evidently possessed the right to ordain. It is 
ascribed to him in the solemn charge, s Lay hands suddenly 
on no man.' It was this, that constituted his apostolick char- 
acter, and that gave him pre-eminence over the inferiour order 
of elders. 

On no other principle can we satisfactorily account for 
another class of duties, as solemnly urged upon his attention. 
4 Let the elders that rule well, be counted worthy of double 
honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.' 
6 Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or 
three witnesses. Them that sin rebuke before all, that others 
also may fear.' For how can these charges comport with the 
opinion, that he was only an elder himself ? How can this 
obvious superiority and right to govern, to put upon trial, and 
rebuke the elders of Ephesus, how can it consist with his 
holding the same office, and of course possessing no higher 
authority in the Church of Christ ? Nothing could be more 
absurd ; nothing more clearly evince, in those who maintain 
such ground, a palpable sacrifice of reason and argument on 
the altar of prejudice and schism. 

I am gratified however in being able to present you, with 
yet more conclusive evidence of the apostolick character of 
this eminent servant of God. Most persons in perusing the 
epistles, appear to overlook the fact, that some of those, 
bearing the name of Paul, are not exclusively his own : that 
others unite with him in these admirable expositions of sound 
doctrine, and were equally inspired and authorized to address 
the Churches. The first epistle to the Thessalonians is of 
this description. It was not written by Paul alone. It com- 
mences in this manner ; 4 Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, 
unto the Church of the Thessalonians.' Nor is this to be 
regarded as a mere matter of form, unless we are disposed to 
impute formality to those words, which the Holy Ghost 
teacheth. It rather clearly demonstrates, thai this epistle was 

5 



5S 



the joint production of the three individuals, recorded as 
its authors. In the former part of it, plural pronouns are 
constantly used. 4 We give thanks to God always for you 
all.' £ Ye became followers of rs,' 6 They themselves show 
of rs, what manner of entering in, we had unto you.' ' As 
we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, 
even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth 
| on hearts.' 6 Neither at any time used we flattering words.' 

And now comes the passage to which your attention is partic- 
ularly directed ; 6 Nor of men sought we glory, neither of 
you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, 
as the Apostles of Christ.' 

Plainly and directly then is Timothy pronounced to be an 
Apostle of our Lord Jesus Christ. By our opponents the 
name is denied him. They feel that it would be the death 
blow to their whole system. But Paul and Silvanus had no 
human device to sustain, and therefore they apply it to him. 
Timothy knew the office, with which he was invested, and 
therefore he appropriated its proper appellative to himself, 
and thus classed himself with the Apostles. The word is plu- 
ral and not singular, as it would have been, if Paul only had 
written the epistle. It is even remarkable, that in the same- 
chapter, he distinguished himself from his brethren, as having 
been more particularly desirous of visiting the Thessalonians. 
6 Wherefore we would have come unto you (even I Paul) 
once and again : but Satan hindered rs.' So evidently does 
he discriminate between the two pronouns, we and I ; and so 
undeniably do I show you, from the highest of all authority, 
the apostolick character of Timothy. It ought to silence 
every objection. It is the precise testimony we have been 
long challenged to produce, as that which would decide the 
whole controversy, in our favour ; and I am only astonished 
that it should hitherto, so far as my knowledge extends, have 
escaped the observation of the eminent theologians, who have 
maintained the divine right of episcopacy. 

For the present, I defer the scarcely less striking example 



59 



of Titus, to whom Paul writes, ' For this cause left I thee in 
Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are want- 
ing, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee.' 
I defer also the case of the seven Angels, presiding over the 
seven Churches of Asia Minor, who are addressed by St John 
in the book of Revelation, and for whose apostolick character 
there is abundant testimony. I defer them because they will 
be better understood, when taken in connexion with the testi- 
mony of the primitive fathers of the Church, to which I have 
so frequently referred, and with which i propose to make you 
acquainted in my next discourse. It will fully corroborate the 
construction I have given to the scriptures, and establish it 
on their imperishable basis. 

On the review of what has been already submitted, it appears 
to me, that nothing is hazarded, no liability to the imputation 
of reasoning from false statements, or of drawing false con- 
clusions, when the whole current of scriptural evidence is 
asserted to bear strongly and incontrovertibly in favour of 
these three orders of Christ's ministers, deacons, presbyters or 
elders, and Apostles. In relation to the last and highest, I 
have shown you, what no one disputes, inasmuch as the Apos- 
tles appointed by Christ were] the latest writers of the new 
testament, that this office continued in existence throughout 
the period included in the divine records. I have also shown 
you, that Barnabas and Epaphroditus were each honoured 
with the title of Apostle ; that it is expressly appropriated to 
Timothy ; that he exercised the highest and peculiar duties of 
the office itself, and must upon every fair and equitable con- 
struction be enrolled on the catalogue of its incumbents. 

No sensible man requires to be informed, that where inspi- 
red history terminates, we must necessarily resort to that 
which is uninspired, in order to prosecute the inquiry upon 
the subject of Church government. The principles upon which 
that inquiry should be conducted are very important and even 
essential. To be understood, they should be explained with 
the utmost clearness and precision ; but as my remaining 



60 



limits would scarcely afford the opportunity to exhibit them 
ia their true aspect, they must likewise be reserved to the 
succeeding sabbath. In the meantime, as the object is to 
prove the continuance of the apostolick office, after the death 
of its original holders, and that to this office alone belongs the 
power of ordination, it will not be airiiss to vindicate the 
course I am pursuing, with a few closing remarks. 

And here, brethren, permit me to observe, that I rest every 
thing upon the basis of the scriptures, and repair to antiquity, 
for the sole purpose of proving, that I give them a fair and 
legitimate interpretation. If Christ had not said, 6 As my 
Father hath sent me, even so send I you if he had not 
promised to the Apostles in particular, 6 Lo, I am with you 
always even unto the end of the world ;*' if there had been no 
other Apostles, but the original twelve, with Matthias and 
Paul ; I should not be so strenuous in maintaining, that their 
office exists at the very moment, I am speaking. Or, if there 
could be found one solitary example of presbyterian ordination 
in the sacred volume ; I should be w r ell pleased to ascribe to 
it, the same force and authority, which now attaches to that 
which is episcopal. Under such circumstances, I would not 
hesitate to discard the unvarying testimony of antiquity, as 
either mistaken in its facts or spurious in its origin. But 
when, upon every candid and impartial investigation of the 
word of inspiration, I am forced to consider the reverse of all 
this, as eminently true, nothing can satisfy my conscience ; 
nothing my internal sense of the divine right to institute and 
prescribe all things necessary for the welfare and prosperity 
of Zion ; nothing, but a sacred regard for and an obedient 
following of holy oracles. As in them, the Church appears 
to me, to be constituted one and indivisible, with a ministry 
that is not to be changed in part or abolished entirely ; I can 
never consent to coincide with human views, or to repose my 
confidence in Churches of human construction. 

If this be bigotry, inasmuch as it is the bigotry of the scrip- 
tures, disclosed by our Saviour and his evangelists, it is mine, 



61 



and I am perfectly willing to bear its reproach. 6 Blessed are 
ye when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you 
from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your 
name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake.' It is only refusing 
to others, the same right of private judgment, which they ve- 
hemently claim for themselves, and since we must all give an 
account of the things done in the body, where there will pre- 
side a judge, unbiassed by the denunciations of separatists, it 
is some consolation to be accused of bigotry, with the grateful 
consciousness pervading the soul, that it is for adhering closely 
to the pattern of heavenly things. But if we 6 sin against the 
Lord, who shall entreat for us V If we knowingly reject his 
institutions, and in preference suffer ourselves to float upon 
the tide of popular prejudice ; 6 who may abide the day of his 
coming ? and who shall stand when he appeareth ?' 

I allude not to the mere errour of ignorance ; where there 
is sincerity of heart to obey the will of God, whenever it is 
clearly perceived and understood. But for myself, having 
attentively studied and found out what I firmly believe to be 
the divinely instituted Church of Christ, I will not yield it 
up, though all men should forsake it, as all the disciples once 
forsook their Lord in his extremity and fled. I will not yield 
it up, because it would be highly criminal in me, however 
venial and pardonable in others, regarding it with different 
eyes, and imbibing different impressions. For wherever there 
is wilful schism, there, there is sin. Wherever there is a known 
illegal assumption of the ministerial functions, or a known 
usurpation of the higher offices, by such as only enjoy the sub- 
ordinate, there also, there is sin. And that these sins are not 
of the most venial complexion, in the sight of God, is readily 
admitted by the deeply skilled in sacred history. 

Take, for example, the case of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. 
They were the sons of Levi, a component part of the Jewish 
hierarchy, who, not contented with their inferiour station, as- 
pired to the high priesthood itself. 6 And they,' with two 
hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, 6 gathered them- 

5* 



62 



selves together against Moses, and against Aaron, and said 
unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congre- 
gation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among 
theni : wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congre- 
gation of the Lord V But Moses replied, 6 Seemeth it but a 
small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated 
you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to 
himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and 
to stand before the congregation to minister unto them ? And 
he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the 
sons of Levi with thee : and seek ye the priesthood also V And 
what were the consequences attending this rebellion, this 
criminal ambition for sacerdotal pre-eminence ? By the judg- 
ment of the Lord, 6 the ground clave asunder that was under 
them : And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them 
up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto 
Korah, and all their goods. They, and all that appertained 
unto them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed 
upon them : and they perished from among the congregation.' 
The case of Uzzah is still more remarkable, for it even em- 
braces the inanimate things of the priesthood, and perhaps 
corresponds with every present unlawful consecration of the 
elements used in the Christian sacraments. Inconsiderately 
and without any evil design, he 6 put forth his hand to the ark 
of God, and took hold of it ; for the oxen shook it. And the 
anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah ; and God smote 
him there for his errour ; and there he died by the ark of 
God. y 

I am not therefore to be deluded with the modern cry, that 
bishops 6 take too much upon them,' w r hen claiming to be suc- 
cessors of the Apostles in their office and ministry. It is the 
appointment of God, that they should do this ; and who is 
there to darken his counsels or to contend with him ? Not 
the preacher of to day, who upon diligent examination of his 
word, perceives the angel of the Church at Ephesus to be 
commended in these words ; 6 thou hast tried them which say 



63 



they are Apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars :' 
Who discovers in the short epistle of Jude, that the crime, 
just recited from the old dispensation, may be and was actually 
committed under the new. 6 These.' he declares, 6 speak evil 
of things which they know not,' 6 Wo unto. them! for they 
have' < perished in the gainsaying of Core :' Who finds St 
Paul proclaiming to the holy brethren among the Hebrews 
concerning the priesthood, ' Xo man taketh this honour unto 
himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. So also,' 
he continues, 6 Christ glorified not himself to be made a Hicrh 
Priest ; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day 
have I begotten thee.' For 5 though he were a Son, yet learn- 
ed he obedience, by the things which he suffered, 5 

It is not then a light thing, as some persons are fain to 
imagine, to take upon themselves the office of an ambassador 
for Christ, uncertain or careless, whether they have or have 
not obtained it through the right channel, and from the requi- 
site authority. It is rather a most solemn and serious trans- 
action. One, that cannot be too intensely studied, or too 
ardently desired to be received according to the appointment 
of heaven. A slight research will almost invariably result in 
the opinion, that one denomination is as lawful as another, 
and one set of ministers, as duly authorized as another. But 
this is not the language of the bible ; and when ye consider 
the multitude of evils springing from our numerous divisions, 
our endless heresies and schisms, can ye wonder that it is not ? 
Can ye wonder, when that bible is thus strangely perverted, 
and every whim of man is but the precursor of new efforts to 
rend the body of Christ, that the evil days are not shortened, 
and that the dawn of millenial union and glory still refuses to 
appear ? 

Such wonder exists not with me. I look for no good thing 
that can come out of schism. I look for no millenium, until 
sectarians, after the future manner of the wolf and the lamb, 
the leopard and kid, shall dwell and lie down together in the 
court3 of the same house of our God : until, like the predicted 



64 



nations, they shall beat their partisan swords and spears into 
real spiritual ploughshares and pruning hooks, and learn the 
art of polemick war no more. And therefore, do I justify my- 
self for embarking in these discourses, sustained as I am, by 
the hope of gaining some converts upon principle to the 
Church and ministry of the Lord's Anointed. And having 
embarked, ' For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for 
Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof 
go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that 
burneth.' Wherever there is a true Christian, let him erect 
what banner he pleases, I will bid him, with regard to his in- 
ternal religion, his experimental faith and practice, 6 God 
speed.' But nevertheless know ye brethren assuredly, that 
union should be the watchword of all believers in Jesus ; and 
at the same time, that so far as the general religious prosper- 
ity is concerned, all professed union is no better than schism, 
until there be but one visible Church, as there is but one 
Lord, one faith, and one baptism. 

Hasten then, we beseech thee, gracious God, a union so 
fervently to be implored. Hasten the arrival of that day, 
when light shall come upon Jerusalem, and thy glory rise 
upon her ; when the Gentiles shall come to her light, and 
kings to the brightness of her rising ; when her sons shall 
come from far, and her daughters be nursed at her side ; when 
the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto her, and a 
multitude of precious offerings shall come up with acceptance 
on thine altar, and thou shalt glorify the house of thy glory. 
These things would we pray for, with one accord. These 
things, out of thine infinite mercy, do thou grant : and to thee, 
the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, three persons and one God, 
shall be ascribed all glory, and honour, and dominion, and 
praise, world without end. Amen. 



65 



SERMON V. 

isaiah lxii. t. 

For Zions sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusa- 
lem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof 
go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp 
that burneth. 

In introducing the testimony of the fathers of the Curch, in 
relation to the government and ministry established therein, by 
the holy Apostles, I have already represented, that the princi- 
ples upon which the inquiry should be conducted are very 
important and even essential, and that to be understood, they 
should be explained with the utmost clearness and precision. 

You are doubtless aware, that all the various denominations 
of prolestant Christians are exceedingly tenacious in holding 
up the bible as the sole rule of their faith and practice ; and 
not one of them has been more plain and explicit, on this very 
material point, than the Church to which we profess to belong. 
According to her sixth article, 'Holy Scripture containeth all 
things necessary to salvation : so that whatsoever is not read 
therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of 
any man, that it should be believed as an article of the faith, 
or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. 5 With thi3 
doctrine I most cordially concur. I have not the remotest idea 
of recognising any religious system whatever, as a standard 
of authority, independent of that blessed volume, which alone 
contains the written revelation of God's will. To this alone 
I bow with reverential awe, and in the spirit of a rational and 
confiding faith. 

And yet, who does not know, that from this one inspired 
source are drawn a vast variety of opposing creeds ? It is the 



66 



common standard of Catholick and Protestant, of Churchman 
and Dissenter, of Trinitarian and Anti-Trinitarian, of Calvin- 
ist and Arminian. All these, with many more, entertaining 
opinions diametrically at variance, the one with the other ; 
all these appeal to the same divine revelation, and thence de- 
duce their respective rites and dogmas. 

Under such circumstances, to pretend that the several sects 
are alike just and right, in their different views and inferences, 
would be to deprive the scriptures of all harmony and all cer- 
tainty. The same passage would be made in one mouth, to 
assert the everlasting, and in another, the limited punishment 
of the wicked. And certainly, by no process of reasoning, 
with which I am acquainted, can it be made to appear, that 
these discordant assertions are both true, and that a most pal- 
pable contradiction in terms, is in fact no contradiction. The 
same may.be said of all other debatable opinions. If both 
sides are to be considered equally entitled to credit, there is 
an end to the unchangeable character and consistency of God 
and his word. We are at perfect liberty to believe what we 
list, arid to construct a thousand forms of doctrine, no matter 
how great may be the contrast, how irreconcilable the senti- 
ments. But conscious as I am, that nothing of this kind can 
be justly imputed to the scriptures, it is with me, a solemn and 
serious truth, that they speak but one language, and impose 
upon us the obligation of endeavouring to interpret them, in 
singleness Gf heart and unity of mind. 

Still however we differ : we cannot agree. Where, then, 
are we to look for a competent tribunal, to which we may- 
refer our differences, and consent to abide by its decision ? In 
this life I know of none, unless it be the uninspired writings 
of those, who first believed in Christ. Some of them were 
cotemporary and personally acquainted with the Apostles, 
and consequently in possession of much greater advantages, 
than we can possibly enjoy for ascertaining, if not the precise 
doctrines, at least the precise institutions, of those immediate 
companions and servants of Christ. 



67 



Suppose, for example, that one of our age had constantly 
associated with the Apostles, and by the good providence of 
God had been permitted to remain to this time ; suppose, that 
as a Christian of blameless life and conversation, he was every 
way worthy of our confidence in his veracity ; would he not 
be able most satisfactorily to settle such questions, as these ? 
Did the Apostles admit infants to baptism ? Did they in cel- 
ebrating the rite sprinkle or immerse ? Did they recognise a 
change of the sabbath from the last to the first day of the 
week ? Or to come more immediately within the design of 
these discourses : Did they establish the one single order of 
presbyters in the ministry, or the three distinct orders of bish- 
ops, presbyters, and deacons ? Most clearly there can be but 
one opinion upon such a statement. We should all be willing 
to admit the superiour accuracy of his knowledge to our own, 
and as readily agree to be governed by the decisive testimony 
he would be enabled to bear. 

This, then, as I conceive, is the very attitude occupied by 
the primitive fathers, with the single exception, that being 
dead they yet speak by the works, which they have left behind. 
They either lived with the Apostles, or in some instances soon 
after ; they enjoyed all the facilities for information, connected 
with that early age and their peculiar situation: they were 
humble, pious, and holy men of God ; they evinced their faith- 
fulness unto death, in cheerfully submitting to the pains and 
penalties of martyrdom ; they committed their knowledge of 
the Christian Church to paper ; their writings have been pre- 
served pure and unadulterated to our age, and are at this mo- 
ment as credible and authentick, as they were at the moment 
they were first composed. 

And now I demand, in what light are they to be regarded? 
Not as divine authority, not as equally binding and imperative 
with the letter of the scriptures" \ but as the declarations of 
so many impartial and disinterested witnesses of facts, which 
came under their own observation* and about which, they 
could be no more mistaken, than you can be of the nature of 



68 



the government under which you live, that it is republican, and 
not monarchical ; that its institutions are free, proceeding 
from the will of the people, and not arbitrary, from the nod 
of a despot. In determining the true sense of those passa- 
ges of the scriptures, which relate to the ministry of Christ's 
Church, and concerning which, there is so much controversy 
existing at the present day, growing out of sectarian feeling 
and prejudice ; where then can you discover another tribunal, 
in all respects, perfectly fair and impartial, as the tribunal 
furnished by the fathers ? It may not, cannot be. I Avould 
far sooner disbelieve, that Alexander crossed the Hellespont, 
and Csesar, the Rubicon, than deny all credibility to those 
numerous attestations, with w 7 hich they prove episcopacy to 
have been universally established in the Church, by the Apos- 
tles of Christ. 

I will here present you w 7 ith a few of the most decided and 
unequivocal character. To begin with Ignatius, the successor 
of Peter in the apostolick office at xAntioch, appointed by him, 
and whose personal knowledge of many of the Apostles is not 
denied. In his epistle to the Magnesians, he writes, 6 Seeing 
then I have been judged worthy to see you, by Damas your 
most excellent bishop ; and by your very worthy presbyters, 
Bassus and iApollonius ; and by my fellow servant Sotio, the 
deacozn ; in whom I rejoice, forasmuch as he is subject unto 
his bishop as to the grace of God, and to the presbytery as to 
the law of Jesus Christ ; I determined to write unto you. 
Wherefore it will become you also not to use your bishop too 
familiarly upon the account of his youth ; but to yield all rev- 
erence to him according to the power of God the Father ; as 
also I perceive that your holy presbyters do ; not considering 
his age, which indeed to appearance is young ; but as becomes 
those who are prudent in God, submitting to him, or rather 
not to him, but to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ the 
bishop of us all. It will therefore behoove you to obey your 
bishop ; in honour of him whose pleasure it is that ye should 
do so, because he that does not do so, deceives not the bishop 



69 



whom he sees, but affronts him that is invisible. For whatso- 
ever of this kind is done, it reflects not upon man, but upon 
God, who knows the secrets of our hearts. It is therefore 
fitting, that we should not only be called Christians, but be so. 
As some call indeed their governour, bishop, but yet do all 
things without him. But I can never think that such as these 
have a good conscience, seeing they are not gathered together 
thoroughly according to God's commandment.' 

Here then, brethren, we have a distinct enumeration of the 
three separate orders of bishops, presbyters, and deacons ; we 
have the subjection of the two last, and of all the Magnesian 
Christians, to the first, explicitly stated, and the dangerous 
consequences of insubordination maintained. Afterwards if 
possible, he yet more distinctly tells them, ' I exhort you that 
ye study to do all things in a divine concord : your bishop 
presiding in the place of God, your presbyters in the place of 
the council of the Apostles ; and your deacons most dear to 
me, being intrusted with the ministry of Jesus Christ.' 

In his epistle to the Trallians, he enjoins upon them, to 
' continue inseparable from Jesus Christ our God, and from 
your bishop, and from the commands of the Apostles. He that 
is within the altar is pure ; but he that is without/ 6 that does 
any thing without the bishop, and presbyters, and deacons, is 
not pure in his conscience.' And again, after enumerating 
the same three orders, he uses this strong and emphatick lan- 
guage, 'Without these there is no Church,' 

In his epistle to the Fhiladelphians, he interprets the scrip- 
tures in a manner, scarcely compatible with the modern no- 
tions, to which I have frequently adverted ; 4 I cried whilst I 
was among you ; I spake with a loud voice ; attend to the 
bishop, and to the presbytery, and to the deacons. Now some 
supposed that I spake this as foreseeing the division that should 
come among you. But he is my witness for whose sake I am 
in bonds that I knew nothing from any man. But the Spirit 
spake, saying on this wise ; do nothing without the bishop : 
keep your bodies as the temples of God : love unity : flee di- 



70 



visions : be the followers of Christ, as he was of his Father. 
I therefore did as became me, as a man composed to unity. 
For where there is division and wrath, God dwelleth not. But 
the Lord forgives all that repent, if they return to the unity of 
God, and to the council of the bishop.' 

No language, brethren, can be stronger than this, to prove, 
that its author, the companion of the Apostles, held in abhor- 
rence what now constitute the divisions and schisms of Christ- 
ians ; that he regarded them, as directly opposed to the witness 
of the Spirit of our God, and pregnant with incalculable evils 
to the Church ; and that, in his judgment, all Christians must 
be subject to their bishop, as the highest earthly fountain of 
ecclesiastical authority, ordained of God. 8 Do nothing with- 
out the bishop,* * love unity : flee divisions :' 6 where there is 
division and wrath, God dwelleth not/ On the other hand, 
in his epistle to Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, he takes occa- 
sion to address the laity of that Church, in these truly en- 
couraging terms, 6 Hearken unto the bishop, that God also 
may hearken unto you. My soul be security for them that 
submit to their bishop, with their presbyters and deacons. 
And may my portion be with theirs in God. 5 

Nor must I forget to apprize you, that these quotations are 
only specimens of a large number to the same import, per- 
vading the epistles of this holy man, who professed to write, 
not of himself, not as taught by mere uninspired men, but up- 
on the foundation- of Christ and his Apostles. And what be- 
came of him ? Did he continue faithful unto death ? They 
who saw him die commence their narrative, in these words ; 
4 When Trajan not long since came to the Roman empire, 
Ignatius, the disciple of St John the Apostle (and evangelist,) 
a man in all things like unto the Apostles, governed the Church 
of Antioch with all care.' They describe his arraignment 
before Trajan, the intrepidity, with which he confessed Christ 
crucified, and record this sentence pronounced upon him, by 
that emperor : £ Forasmuch as Ignatius has confessed that he 
carries about within himself, him that was crucified, we com- 



71 



mand that he be carried bound by soldiers to the great Rome, 
there to be thrown to the beasts, for the entertainment of the 
people. When the holy martyr heard this sentence he cried 
out with joy, I thank thee, O Lord, that thou hast vouchsafed 
to honour me with a perfect love towards thee ; and hast made 
me to be put into iron bonds with thy Apostle Paul.' After 
which, they detail the incidents occurring in his journey to 
Rome, and proceed to relate, that upon the day of his martyr- 
dom, 4 all the brethren kneeling down, he prayed to the Son of 
God in behalf of the Churches, that he would put a stop to the 
persecution, and continue the love of the brethren towards 
each other ; which being done, he was with all haste led into 
the amphitheatre, and speedily, according to the command 
of Caesar before given, thrown in, the end of the spectacles 
being at hand.' ' Thus,' they continue, i w T as he delivered to 
the cruel beasts, near the temple by wicked men ;' and thus 
by his patient submission to such a cruel death, do I claim for 
the testimony of the holy martyr Ignatius, all credit in re- 
lation to the three orders in the ministry, first established by 
divine authority, 

Polycarp was another of the fathers personally known to 
the Apostles. He was indeed the fellow disciple of St John 
with Ignatius ; and Irenaeus, who was his scholar, assures us 
that he was taught by the Apostles, and familiarly conversed 
with many, who had seen our Lord in the flesh. After being 
consecrated by his preceptor, bishop of Smyrna, he also wrote 
several epistles to the Churches; but of these, one only remains, 
addressed to the Philippians, in which there is however express 
mention of the two orders of presbyters and deacons, and this 
abundant evidence in favour of episcopacy. Its direction, re- 
cognising what Ignatius incidentally notices in his epistle to 
the Magnesians, and all acknowledge to be true, that he was 
bishop of Smyrna ; ' Polycarp and the presbyters that are 
with him, to the Church of Cod which is at Philippi. 5 Its 
approbation of the epistles of Ignatius, from which I have so 
largely quoted. Towards the conclusion, he thus remarks, 



72 



' The epistles of Ignatius which he wrote unto us, together 
w 7 ith what others of his have come to our hands, we have sent 
to you according to your order ; which are subjoined to this 
epistle ; by which you may be greatly profited ; for they treat 
of faith and patience, and of all things that pertain to edifica- 
tion in the Lord Jesus.' So that this passage as evidently 
shows his perfect concurrence in all the statements, opinions, 
and declarations of Ignatius, who had previously visited him 
in his journey to Rome, as if they had been written with his 
own hand. And let me add, brethren, that none of the fathers 
stand higher in the estimation of posterity than this worthy 
confessor, Ke was called by his contemporaries, 6 the bless- 
ed, 5 6 the most admirable Polycarp.' He was beyond doubt, 
that angel of the Church of Smyrna, to whom the First and 
the Last directed St John to write, 6 I know thy works, and 
tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich.') ' Be thou faith- 
ful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.' 

He was faithful ! In the reign of Marcus Antoninus, he was 
brought before the Roman proconsul of Asia, and required to 
1 swear by the genius of Caesar, 5 and to ' reproach Christ.' 
'Eighty and six years,' he replied, ' have I now served Christ, 
and he has never done me the least wrong : how then can I 
blaspheme my King and my Saviour V 6 The proconsul con- 
tinued, and said unto him, I have wild beasts ready, to those 
I will cast thee except thou repent. He answered, call for 
them then ; for we Christians are fixed in our minds not to 
change from good to evil : but for me it will be good to be 
changed from evil to good. The proconsul added : seeing 
thou despisest the wild beasts, I will cause thee to be devour- 
ed by fire, unless thou shalt repent. Polycarp answered, thou 
threatenest me with fire, which burns for an hour, and so is 
extinguished ; but knowest not the fire of the futuie judgment, 
and of that eternal punishment, which is reserved for the un- 
godly. But why tarriest thou ? Bring forth what thou wilt.' 
And then was he condemned to the flames, his body was con* 
sumed ; but his spirit returned to God, who gave it. 



73 



Yes, brethren, such was the man, who bore evidence to the 
truth of episcopacy ; who corroborated whatever Ignatius had 
written upon the subject, by annexing the epistles of his friend 
to the one, he himself addressed to the Philippians ; and such 
is my confidence in their veracity, their holy boldness in the 
faith, that I would search for no brighter testimony to prove 
the accuracy of our views of the ministry established in the 
scriptures, than the confirmation afforded by the personal 
knowledge of these now sainted martyrs of the primitive 
Church. More indeed is at our disposal, but my limits will 
compel me to be very brief, in the extracts which follow. We 
have the testimony of Irenseus, bishop of Lyons in Gaul, and 
fche scholar of Polycarp, who says in his third book, 6 We can 
reckon up those, who were instituted bishops in the Churches 
by the Apostles, and their successors even unto us, — -to whom 
also they committed the Churches themselves. For they de- 
sired those to be exceeding perfect and irreproachable, whom 
they left successors, delivering up to them their own place of 
mastership.' 'The blessed Apostles, therefore, founding and 
instructing the Church (of Rome), delivered to Linus the 
episcopal office of ruling the Church.' And in his fourth, 
< True knowledge is the doctrine of the Apostles,— according 
to the succession of the bishops, to whom they delivered the 
Church in every place, which doctrine hath reached us, pre- 
served in its most full delivery.' Wherein you cannot but 
observe, how fully irenseus, who was also a martyr, confirms 
the doctrine, which I have before manifestly proved from the 
scriptures, that the apostolick office was continued, and that it 
survived in the persons of the bishops, who, in his expressive 
language, obtained the mastership or rule of the Churches. 

We have the testimony of Clemens Alexandrinus, a writer 
of the second century, who was himself only a presbyter of 
Alexandria, and therefore not to be charged with the inclina- 
tion to elevate bishops over his own order. After comment- 
ing upon the duties imposed upon Christians generally in the 
sacred volume, he proceeds to remark, ' There are other pre- 

6* 



74 



cepts without number, which concern men in particular ca- 
pacities — some of which relate to presbyters ; others which 
belong to bishops, and others respecting deacons.' 

We have the testimony of the celebrated Tertullian, also a 
presbyter, and flourishing at the end of the second, and com- 
mencement of the third century. His words are, ' The chief 
or highest priest, who is the bishop, has the right of giving 
(baptism,) and after him, the presbyters and deacons, but not 
without the bishop's authority, on account of the honour of 
the Church, which being preserved, peace is secured.' Words, 
that as satisfactorily show the superiour office and power of 
a bishop, as any that could be selected from our vernacular 
tongue. 

We have the testimony of Origen, a presbyter of the third 
century, who, in explaining this part of our Lord's prayer, 
« Forgive us our debts,' observes, ' Besides these general debts, 
there is a debt due to widows who are maintained by the 
Church ; another to deacons ; another to presbyters ; and an- 
other to bishops ; which is the greatest of all, and exacted by 
the Saviour of the whole Church, who will severely punish the 
non-payment of it.' 

We have the testimony of Cyprian, at this time bishop of 
Carthage, who thus speaks of the lowest order in the ministry, 
and of its subjection to his own ; 6 The deacons ought to re- 
member, that the Lord chose Apostles, that is, bishops and 
presidents ; but, after the Lord's ascent to heaven, the Apos- 
tles appointed deacons for themselves, the ministers of their 
episcopacy and of the Church. So that we need not be afraid 
to do any thing against God, who makes bishops, if deacons 
need not be afraid to do (any thing) against us, by whom they 
are made.' He also reproves his presbyters for having, dur- 
ing his absence, readmitted to Church membership, some that 
had been before excluded by him, saying, 6 What danger of 
offending the Lord ought we not to fear, when some of the 
presbyters, neither mindful of the gospel nor of their own 
place, neither regarding the future judgment of the Lord nor 



75 



the bishop now set over them, challenge entirely to themselves, 
with haughty speech and contempt of their superiour, what 
was never done at all under our predecessors. 5 

We have the testimony of Jerome, a presbyter of the fourth 
century, who contends for the analogy existing between the 
Jewish and Christian Churches, in these words, < What Aaron, 
and his sons, and the Levites were in the temple, the same 
bishops, presbyters, and deacons may claim to themselves in 
the Church.' He also asserts, that 6 the safety of the Church 
depends upon the dignity of the high priest, to whom unless 
some extraordinary and eminent power be given above all, so 
many schisms will be produced in the Church as there are 
priests. Thence it comes to pass, that without the command 
of the bishop, neither presbyter nor deacon possess the right 
of baptizing. 5 And if, in his celebrated letter to Evagrius, 
he asks the question, i What dees a bishop do, which a pres- 
byter may not do, except ordination V Not only does he here 
reserve, to the bishop, the sole authority of laying on hands 
in confirmation, and admission to the ministry ; but, in another 
epistle, he expressly declares, 4 With us, the bishops hold the 
place of the Apostles. 5 

Yes, brethren, we have the testimony of these distinguished 
divines and primitive fathers, and they constitute a cloud of 
unexceptionable witnesses, all acknowledging the divine origin 
of our three orders in the ministry ; all giving the first rank 
and dignity to bishops, the second to presbyters, and the third 
to deacons ; all maintaining that bishops alone were the suc- 
cessors of the Apostles in their pre-eminent office and minis- 
try. Let therefore the caviller be silent, let the enthusiastick 
seceder pause, as they review a body of evidence, so adverse 
to their pretensions, and that might easily be enlarged to the 
bulk of volumes. We have the voice of antiquity on our side. 
They can only oppose it with the dictum of the three last 
centuries, pronounced by a very small minority of the Christ- 
ian world. 

From what I have previously urged in relation to Timothy 



76 



and Titus, particularly the first, you may however desire some 
additional evidence from the same source, that they were con- 
sidered Apostles or bishops, superiour to presbyters, and alone 
possessing the power of ordination, at Ephesus and Crete. 
Among many others, Polycrates, a bishop of Ephesus near the 
close of the second century, says, that 'Timothy was ordained 
bishop of Ephesus by the great Paul.' Jerome employs 
nearly the same words, ' Timothy was ordained bishop of the 
Ephesians by the blessed Paul.' Epiphanius, bishop of Sala- 
mis in the fourth century, still more explicitly recognises his 
supremacy over mere presbyters, < The Apostle, speaking to 
Timothy, being then a bishop, advises him thus, — Rebuke not 
an elder, but entreat him as a father.' While Chrysostom of 
the same age, whose praise is in all the Churches, is even 
more precise and decided in one of his homilies saying, 4 Paul 
directs Timothy to fulfil his ministry, being then a bishop : 
for that he was a bishop appears from Paul's writing thus to 
him, 6 Lay hands suddenly on no man.' And then as to Titus, 
if any person is disposed to question his episcopal character 
and superiority over elders, let him peruse these few, out of 
numerous authorities. In his account of ecclesiastical wri- 
ters, Jerome enumerates among others, ' Titus, the bishop of 
Crete ;' and in his comment upon this declaration of Paul, 
* For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in 
order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every 
city, as 1 had appointed thee nothing can be more to the 
purpose, than the construction he gives to it, 4 Let bishops 
who have the power of ordaining presbyters attend to this.' 
Theodoret, bishop of Cyprus at the beginning of the fifth 
century, and esteemed one of the most learned fathers of the 
Church, also informs us, that ' Titus, a famous disciple of St 
Paul, was by him ordained bishop of Crete ; being a place of 
great extent ; with a commission also to ordain bishops under 
him.' Take these authorities then, with the universal opinion 
and practice of the Church, wherein for the first fifteen cen- 
turies, there is no record of a single ordination performed by 



77 



presbyters, which was considered valid ; and but very few that 
were even attempted, the act being almost unanimously de- 
nounced as a usurpation of power, and the persons promoted 
being immediately degraded, as it happened to Ischiras or- 
dained by the presbyter Colluthus, in the fourth century : 
Take these authorities, with this opinion and practice, and 
there can be no room for doubt, but that bishops, in virtue of 
their apostolick rank, alone possessed the power of ordination, 
and that their sole right was never seriously questioned, until 
the age of Calvin, who in the sixteenth century established a 
new Church, in which for the first time presbyters successfully 
usurped the authority of their superiours. Under what pre- 
tence, and with what advantage to the unity and prosperity of 
the Church, I shall hereafter have occasion to examine. 

One circumstance however I have as yet forborne to explain, 
to which I must particularly request your attention. It is a 
favourite argument with the opponents of episcopacy, and 
I believe the more a favourite from its being extremely plausi- 
ble, and calculated to satisfy a superficial inquirer, that bish- 
ops have no more authority in the Church than presbyters or 
elders, because these titles are indiscriminately applied to the 
same office, in the inspired volume. The fact we admit. We 
agree that, throughout the Acts and epistles, bishops and 
presbyters are frequently spoken of, as holding the samerank 
in the ministry. And what is our answer to this objection, 
always regarded by us, as alike insidious and unfair ? 

In the first place, that we attach no importance whatever 
to mere names ; that it is the office, and the duties appertain- 
ing to that office, about which we are alone solicitous. At 
the very time then, when according to the scriptures, bishop 
and presbyter were convertible terms, and designated the same 
individual minister, there existed the lower order of deacons, 
and the higher order of Apostles ; and it is for this threefold 
ministry, that we contend, and not for the names, by which it 
was at any time distinguished. If it could be shown, that 
Apostles were not superiour to the then second order of bish- 



78 



ops or presbyters, there would indeed be some foundation for 
the argument, but their superiority being universally acknowl- 
edged, it falls to the ground, being only calculated to gratify 
the subtle disputant on the one hand, and to secure the cred- 
ulous proselyte on the other. 

For, in the second place, while we accede to this inter- 
changeable use of the words, bishop and presbyter in the 
scriptures, we fearlessly and confidently assert, that it ended 
with the apostolick age, and was not afterwards employed by 
the primitive Christians. Not only does Eusebius, the histo- 
rian, say, 4 Those very persons were called Apostles, whom by- 
usage of speech the Church now calls bishops ;' but the cele- 
brated Theodoret before mentioned, has furnished us with the 
following just solution of this merely apparent difficulty. — 
6 The same persons were anciently called presbyters and bish- 
ops, and those now called bishops, were called Apostles ; but 
in process of time, the name of Apostle was left to those who 
were truly Apostles, and the name of bishop was restrained 
to those who were anciently called Apostles : Thus, Epaph- 
roditus was the Apostle of the Philippians, Titus of the Cre- 
tans, and Timothy of the Asiaticks.' 

A more triumphant vindication of episcopacy cannot be 
imagined. They, who succeeded to the apostolick office, out 
of reverence to such of their predecessors, as were immediately 
called by Christ, appear to have relinquished to them the more 
dignified title of Apostle, and to have appropriated to them- 
selves the humbler name of bishop, originally bestowed upon the 
second order of the ministry in common with that of presby- 
ter ; but thenceforward exclusively attached to the first, and 
never afterwards resumed by the second. The change was 
only in name, the two offices or orders remained as separate 
and distinct as they were before. Bishops were what the 
Apostles had been, and presbyters, ceasing to call themselves 
bishops, looked up to these, as their superiours, as they had 
formerly looked up to the Apostles, separated to that office, 
by their Lord and Master in person. It was precisely, as if 



79 



by the common consent of the American people, springing 
from gratitude for the services, and veneration for the memory 
of Washington, it should be determined for the future, to 
appropriate to him alone, the title of president, and to all his 
successors in the presidential office created by the constitution, 
what is now regarded as the less dignified name of governour. 
Tt would not abstract one iota from the constitutional privi- 
leges and powers attached to the office itself. Its incum- 
bent would still superintend and govern, as he now superin- 
tends and governs ; and he would be considered the merest 
trifler, who should have the folly to assert, that a change of 
names had produced a material change in official rank and 
authority. The title, Imperator, was conferred upon the vic- 
torious generals of Rome, during the period of the common- 
wealth. Was the Imperator, Augustus, the first of the impe- 
rial dynasty, no more than a general ? Reply is needless, 
You know the distinction, you perceive its application ; and 
thus I dismiss a most evasive subterfuge, as utterly unworthy 
of Christian candour and Christian truth. 

As intimately connected with it, I must not however forget 
to demolish another equally uncandid, though no less plausi- 
ble, perversion of the scriptures. The epistle to the Pbil- 
ippians commences, in this manner ; 4 Paul and Timotheus, 
the servants of J esus Christ, to all the saints which are at Phi- 
lippi, with the bishops and deacons.' With great complacency, 
the adversaries to episcopacy immediately inquire. Where do 
you here find the three orders in the ministry I Strange, [ 
reply, that sensible men should be so leady to compromise 
their reputation for common sagacity, when the verse itself 
obviously contains all the orders we contend for. It proceeds 
from the two Apostles, Paul and Timothy, and is addressed 
to bishops and deacons, in other words, to presbyters and 
deacons, for we cheerfully agree that such is the interpre- 
tation of the passage. But what shall we say to the can- 
dour of these inquirers, when it is further considered that 
the epistle could not have been directed to the highest or- 



80 



der in the ministry, for the very substantial reason, that 
Epaphroditus, the x4postle of the Philippians, was its bearer ? 
Already have 1 shown you that this was the title it confers 
upon him, and to convince you that he was more than a mere 
messenger, this is the manner, in which he is commended to 
his episcopal flock ; 4 Receive him therefore in the Lord with 
all gladness and hold such in reputation.' All antiquity in- 
| deed regard him as an Apostle. Jerome himself says, in his 

commentary upon the Galatians, 4 By little and little, in pro- 
cess of time, others were ordained Apostles, by those whom 
our Lord had chosen, as that passage to the Philippians af- 
firms, saying, I supposed it necessary to send unto you 
Epaphroditus, your Apostle.' Explaining this very text, 
Theodoret also contends, that Paul 4 called Epaphroditus an 
Apostle, because to him the charge of Philip pi was committed: 
wherefore it is manifest that those, which in the beginning of 
the epistle were called bishops, were under him.' Even 
Jerome adopts the latter explication. His comment is, 
4 Bishops we here understand to be presbyters, for in one city 
there could not be many bishops.' And Chrysostom is no less 
explicit, 4 What meaneth this ? Were there many bishops of 
one city ? By no means, but by this title, he designeth the 
presbyters for then the name was common.' To such au- 
thorities, no remarks of mine could give additional weight. 
If they do not convince, Would conviction follow, 4 though 
one rose from the dead V 

Another specimen of false, disingenuous reasoning can be 
so completely exposed, by one of the preceding quotations, 
that I cannot resist the inclination to place it before you. 
Jerome is the father, with whom our opponents are the most 
pleased, and with the utmost triumph have they appealed to 
his authority, as conclusive evidence that bishops and presby- 
ters are of the same rank in the ministry. Nothing can be 
more fallacious. In his commentary upon Titus, and in his 
epistle to Evagrius, he does indeed prove, the original appli- 
cation cf the two names to the same individual ; but this, as 



31 



you have heard, is precisely the doctrine we maintain, and the 
only question is, when, according to Jerome, did the identity 
cease, or rather when, and by whose authority, were some of 
the presbyters elevated to the apostolick office. We refer 
this to the time and the authority of the Apostles themselves, 
and assert that it is thus represented by Jerome, in the course 
of the very passages to which the appeal has been made. His 
words are, ' before there were, by the devil's instinct, parties 
in religion, and it was said among the people, I am of Paul, 
I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, the Churches were governed 
by the common council of presbyters.' Wherein, as we insist, 
there is a manifest quotation from Paul's first epistle to the 
Corinthians, and as clear a reference of the change in ques- 
tion, to the period, when Paul himself governed the Church, 
at Corinth. And that our construction is the true one appears 
also from the fact, that, in his epistle, Jerome assures us, that 
6 at Alexandria, from Mark, the evangelist, — to Heraclas and 
Dionysius, the bishops thereof, — the presbyters always named 
one chosen from among them, and placed in a higher degree, 
bishop.' The change is therefore evidently described by him, 
as commencing with Mark, the companion of the Apostles, 
and by them made bishop of Alexandria. 

These very explicit declarations have however been plausi- 
bly assailed,upon the strength of some merely verbal criticisms, 
of which the following have been the most confidently addu- 
ced ; Jerome says, 6 These things I have written to show, that 
among the ancients, presbyters and bishops were the same. 
But, by little and little, (paulatim) that all the seeds of dissen- 
sion might be plucked up, the whole care was devolved on one.' 
In another passage he states, 4 that one was afterwards chosen, 
who should be set above the rest.' Such, then, is the prom- 
inent ground on which the doctrine is maintained, that this 
father contends for the gradual introduction of episcopacy, 
after the time of the Apostles, and of course wholly unauthor- 
ized by them. In virtue of these indefinite statements ; these 

7 



82 



artfully construed ' little by little' encroachments, our system 
is boldly pronounced a usurpation of man's device. 

But mark how completely all this showy criticism vanishes 
from the view, when brought before the best tribunal, we 
could desire. Jerome himself shall decide what Jerome 
means, in the controverted passages. In that part of his com- 
ment upon Galatians, already quoted, he begins with the very 
word (paulatim), on which so much stress has been laid ; he 
clearly restricts its interpretation to the lives of the Apostles, 
and pronounces judgment, in favour of the apostolick estab- 
lishment of episcopacy, in language that must settle the con- 
troversy forever, so far as he is concerned. I will repeat it ; 
1 By little and little, in process of time, others were ordained 
Apostles, by those whom our Lord had chosen, as that pas- 
sage (or speech) to the Philippians affirms, saying, I supposed 
it necessary, to send unto you Epaphroditus, your Apostle/ 
No more then let us hear of Jerome's testimony, as adverse 
to our views. We desire no stronger evidence from him. It 
shows episcopacy to have been planted by the Apostles, and, 
praised be his name, God himself hath given the increase. 

On the whole, brethren, although I may have fatigued you 
by a recourse to so many authentick records, I cannot but 
think, that you must concur with me in the opinion, that the 
clear, decided, and unanimous testimony of all antiquity is to 
be found arrayed on the side of our venerable Church, and 
her truly apostolick ministry. In adverting to the principles, 
with which the discourse was commenced, will you then abide 
by this testimony ? Or, will you prefer to coincide in senti- 
ment with our opponents, as far better qualified to expound 
the scriptures, and determine matters of fact than they, who 
were either brought up at the Apostles' feet, or were soon 
after eye witnesses of the institutions, which universally pre- 
vailed, and that were universally considered to have had their 
origin from men, who spake and acted as they were moved by 
the Holy Ghost ? I will not for a mom ent permit myself to 
doubt, but that your decision will be on the side, where scrip- 



83 



ture and antiquity are known to harmonize, where they com- 
bine to erect upon the towers and bulwarks of the Church, 
the ensigns of sacred truth, and of legitimate power and glory. 

It is indeed strange to me, that well informed Christians 
should ever arrive at a different conclusion. It necessarily 
involves them in this plain and palpable contradiction. They 
readily receive the brief testimony of the fathers upon some 
subjects, and they reject it upon one, where they are far more 
voluminous and explicit. For does the baptist deny, that the 
scriptures allow of sprinkling or of infant baptism ? After 
having exhausted to no convincing effect, the various passages 
of the bible, which bear upon the controversy, they can con- 
fidently appeal to these very fathers, and claim the victory in 
virtue of evidence derived from them. Do persons contend, 
that there has been no change of the sabbath from the seventh 
to the first day of the week or the Lord's day ? They do not 
scruple to repair to the same witnesses, nor upon their au- 
thority do they hesitate to proclaim a similar triumph. 

These, however, are comparatively minor points. There 
is one of vastly greater moment, and they who persist in dis- 
crediting the records of antiquity, in relation to the Christian 
ministry, put in the hands of the infidel the most powerful 
weapon, which he can possibly wield against the volume of 
inspiration. For when he contests its authenticity ; when he 
asserts, that the present canon of scripture, including the gos- 
pels, the acts, the epistles, and the book of revelation, is 
spurious, and no more entitled to our confidence, than the 
many false gospels, acts, and epistles, which have also de- 
scended to our age ; how will these persons be able to meet 
him without recourse to the very men, whose testimony they 
renounce upon the subject of episcopacy, and whom the infi- 
del may therefore argue are undeserving of the slightest credit 
upon any other ? 

See you not, brethren, the dilemma in which they place 
themselves ? Know ye not, that all the external evidence, in 
favour of the integrity of the present copies of the bible, rests 



84 



upon the veracity of the fathers alone ? Leave them entirely 
out of view, and there is no longer any certainty about it. 
The several parts of which it is composed were collected 
together, not by the Apostles, but by them. In the general 
councils convened by the primitive bishops, it was determined, 
what books purporting to be written by inspired men were 
authentick, what were spurious ; and by that determination 
has the Christian world found itself compelled to abide. For 
once admit that their judgment was wrong in relation to one 
book, and it would cast a shade of suspicion over the residue. 
Once admit, that their peculiar situation gave them no greater 
advantage, than we have, to judge correctly, and the infidel 
may laugh in your face, when you tell him, that this gospel 
was written by Matthew, and that by John, this epistle by 
Peter, and that by Paul. We are consequently obliged to rely 
upon them- ,when we maintain the genuineness of all ; upon 
their proximity to the apostolick age, and the superiour degree 
of knowledge, which they derived from that single circum- 
stance. And I ask no more, when I appeal to them and their 
writings in behalf of the Church founded by Christ and his 
Apostles. If they are good witnesses in the one case, they 
are good in the other ; while the reverse is equally true, if they 
are to be disbelieved concerning episcopacy, they are to be 
disbelieved concerning the canon of scripture. I have no 
right to tell you, that one single leaf of the new testament 
is a genuine transcript of the original manuscript of its pro- 
fessed author. 

You discover therefore, brethren, the importance and the 
propriety of reposing implicit confidence in the testimony, 
which I have collected from the fathers ; and may Almighty 
God in his wisdom enable you to bring the same to good 
effect : may it cause you to become more and more attached 
to the Church, which with his own right hand he hath planted 
in the vineyard of the world ; may it preserve you effectually 
from being seduced from that communion with it, whose obli- 
gation is to be traced to its divine origin and authority : may 



85 



it induce you to adhere to it, to its apostolick ministry, its 
pure and spiritual worship, its truly catholick and evangelical 
doctrines, upon the same principles of love and affection, 
which upon an occasion somewhat similar animated the right- 
eous soul of Peter. 4 From that time,' says the evangelist, 
speaking of our Lord, ' from that time many of his disciples 
went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus 
unto the twelve, Will ye also go away ? Then Simon Peter 
answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go ? thou hast the 
words of eternal life. 5 Yes, brethren, the Church in her min- 
istry, her liturgy, her articles, her bible, and her great Head ; 
the Church has the words of eternal life, and if ye desert her, 
where will ye find a better ? For my own part, I could almost 
as soon be tempted to desert my Saviour and my God ; and 
therefore, ' For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for 
Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof 
go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp 
that burnetii.' Amjjn. 



SERMON VI. 

isaiah Ixii. 1. 

For Ziorts sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's 
sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth 
as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that 
burneth. 

I caxnot but flatter myself, that the last discourse delivered 
upon these words, presented the most clear and invincible tes- 
timony from the primitive fathers, of the divine origin of our 
episcopal ministry ; a ministry comprehending the three dis- 
tinct orders of bishops, presbvters, and deacons. Had it been 

"7* 



86 



necessary, I could have extracted volumes of evidence of a 
precisely similar purport. There is no credible author of that 
early age whose writings can be brought to bear against me. 
All speak the same language. All advert to the same organ- 
ization of the Church of Christ, and seem to be utterly un- 
conscious of any seriously opposing pretensions. They feared 
indeed that they might arise. They knew that the feeling of 
insubordination was natural to the heart of man, and hence 
their repeated exhortations to unity, their hostility to schism, 
their commendation of inferiour ministers and laymen, for 
continuing in subjection to the chief ecclesiastick appointed 
and ordained of God to rule over their spiritual concerns. And 
yet our modern separatists w T ould fain persuade us to a con- 
trary belief; fain persuade us, that the Apostles committed 
the ministry of the Church to the one single order of presby- 
ters, and that these alone possess a legitimate claim to the 
execution of its functions. But on the supposition that they 
are right, what might we not reasonably expect to find in those 
remnants of antiquity, to which I have referred you, as having 
survived the corroding lapse of time ? A single dissenting 
presbyter of the present age, or a synod of presbyters, in ad- 
dressing a kindred Church, would apply the like title to its 
ministers, and if there were associate Churches, all their pas- 
tors would be placed upon a par, and no one would be distin- 
guished from the rest by an appellation, implying pre-eminence 
in ecclesiastical rank and station. 

Under such circumstances and from such a source, an epistle 
to the presbyters of New- York, of Philadelphia, or Baltimore 
would be strictly correct ; it would correspond with the ac- 
knowledged principles of the sect. But if an episcopalian 
should write, he would either address the bishop alone, or in 
conjunction with his presbyters and deacons. And how was 
it in primitive times ? Do we in such cases hear of presbyters 
only ? Is no higher office adverted to ; no office vested in 
the person of one individual, and to whom they are supposed 
to yield obedience, as their superiour in dignity and power ? 



87 



Let Ignatius answer, Ignatius, the disciple of John ; and 
Onesimus will be found to have been bishop of Ephesus, 
Damas of Magnesia, Polybius of Tralles, and rolycarp of 
Smvrna. Deacons were in each of those cities ; they are 
named in his epistles, and the inferiority of their station is 
recognised. Presbyters also were there. Even the scriptures 
themselves speak of the elders of Ephesus. Whence then, if 
we are wrong, and our adversaries are right, whence this un- 
accountable language ? Why is one individual singled out 
from all others, and dignified with the title of bishop ? Why, 
if we peruse all early antiquity, do we hear of him only, ex- 
cept in some cases of acknowledged schism, and not of two, 
three, four, or five bishops, residing at the same time in a 
city comprising multitudes of Christians, and adorned with 
numerous temples consecrated to the publick worship of God ? 
Why did Jerome say, 6 In one city there could not be many 
bishops V Why did Chrysostom ask, i Were there many bish- 
ops in one city V at the same time answering, i By no means.' 
Why did Cornelius, a celebrated bishop of the third century, 
thus denounce the scfaismatick bishop, Xovatian ; 6 This jolly 
inquisitor of the gospel understandeth not, that there ought to 
be but one bishop, in that Catholick Church, (Rome) in which 
he knoweth there are forty six presbyters V 

Certainly, brethren, if the doctrine of sacerdotal equality 
be genuine, here is an enigma, that never was, and that never 
can be solved, Eut admit the apostolick origin of episcopacy, 
and the clouds disperse, every difficulty vanishes, the fathers 
speak intelligibly, and are freed from the imputation of using 
the grossest misnomers, And let me tell you a better argu- 
ment in our favour can scarcely be imagined. Many bishops 
in a single place at the same moment would have given no 
slight colour to the idea of their being of the like order with 
presbyters ; but the undeviating evidence of there being right- 
fully no more than one, establishes the permanency of the 
apostolick office in that one, beyond all reasonable contradic- 
tion. Ignatius upon this subject is very definite, * 3e not 



88 



deceived, brethren : if any one follows him that makes a 
schism in the Church, he shall not inherit the kingdom of 
God. If any one walks after any other opinion, he agrees not 
with the passion of Christ. Wherefore let it be your endeav- 
our to partake all of the same holy eucharist. For there is 
but one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ : and one cup, in the 
unity of his blood ; one altar; as also there is oxe bishop, 
together with his presbytery, and the deacons my fellow ser- 
vants : that so whatsoever ye do, ye may do it according to 
the will of GoaV 

Strong language this, and not the less worthy of remem- 
brance because Ignatius here insists, that the elevation of a 
single individual to be the bishop of a city, having many presby- 
ters and Churches is according to the will of Cod. And where 
was his authority for the assertion ? He knew the scriptures, 
few 7 persons have known them better, and from thence ascer- 
tained the location of Timothy at Ephesus, and Titus at Crete. 
He possessed the book of the Revelation of St John, his 
preceptor, and there perceived this aged Apostle, under the 
direction of Christ, writing to the angel of each of the seven 
Churches of Asia. And who was the Angel I You have 
only to read those short epistles, in order to be convinced, 
that it was the name applied to the ecclesiastick possessing 
supreme power and authority in the Church where he resided, 
Such is the testimony of all the fathers. Xot a doubt existed 
in their minds of the identity or rather the interchangeable 
application of the two words, angel and bishop. Hilary among 
others affirms it, contending that Paul " calls bishops, angels, 
as is taught in the revelation of John and even the names 
of the individuals are given, who at that time held the bishop- 
ricks of Ephesus and Smyrna. It is indeed a remarkable 
fact, that the angel of the former place is commended in the 
scriptures, for having exerted his authority in this manner, 
8 Thou hast tried thern which say they are Apostles, and are 
not, and hast found them liars.' But how could he do this, if 
he did not fill the apostolick office himself ? If the presbyters 



89 



of Ephesus, mentioned in the Acts, were associated with him 
in the same ministerial order ? Or why should he proceed to 
try and examine the pretensions of those impostors, if already 
persuaded, that the apostolick office was limited to those ori- 
ginally appointed ? 

Surely, brethren, these are circumstances utterly at war with 
the imaginary blending of the three primitive orders into one. 
On such a principle, I can never reconcile the direction of 
the epistles to a single person, nor can I account for the sole 
jurisdiction he appears to have enjoyed, notwithstanding the 
presence of a numerous body of presbyters, holding as it is 
said the same rank and entitled to claim the same power. — 
But upon our episcopal theory, there is no difficulty, no usur- 
pation of undelegated authority. The two words translated 
Apostle and Angel are of the same signification. They re- 
spectively import. 8 one that is sent.' ' a messenger.' and hence 
the propriety of Theodoret's expression; in accounting for the 
change of title, to which I directed your attention in my last 
discourse. 4 Those now called bishops,, were called Apostles ; 
but in process of time, the name of Apostle was left to those 
who were truly Apostles, and the name of bishop was re- 
strained to those who were anciently called Apostles.' For 
when he speaks of their being truly Apostles, you are to con- 
sider, that the first of that order were literally messengers,' 
commissioned to 1 teach all nations, baptizing them in the 
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.' 
But their successors in office, being at length permanently 
settled in separate diocesses, in different towns and cities, the 
title ; eTTiay.ono:.' from which bishop is derived, became more 
appropriate, inasmuch as it is a compound, answering exactly 
to our engiish word * overseer, 5 And that this explanation is 
entitled to full belief, evidently appears from the fact, that 
even James, one of the twelve, or as most divines believe, the 
brother of our Lord, was permanently stationed at Jerusalem, 
and is therefore perpetually called by the fathers, the first 
bishop of Jerusalem. The same remark applies to Epaphro- 



90 



ditus, to Timothy, to Titus, and to the seven angels, all in 
virtue of their succession called to be Apostles, and yet by 
all antiquity designated, as bishops of their respective cities, 
owing to their supreme oversight of the Churches therein 
established. 

Another, and as I conceive, an invincible argument in sup- 
port of the divine institution of episcopacy, is derived from 
what is universally admitted by its opponents. For when they 
tell us, that the government of the Churches was left by the 
Apostles to presbyters alone, they are forced to acknowledge 
its extremely limited duration. According to some, it was 
extinct before the death of St John. Others think, that about 
this time it began to disappear. Others, that by little and 
little, it gradually vanished during the second and third centu- 
ries ; while no writer amongst them ventures to assert, that 
it continued in any part of the world, beyond the term of three 
hundred years. 

Here then, brethren, permit me seriously to inquire : Is it 
credible that such a government as this could have been in- 
stituted by the Apostles ; a government so fading and fleeting 
in its character ; a government, so soon to be obliterated 
from the face of the earth, by the unanimous adoption of 
episcopacy ? Verily, verily, I say unto you, it is far too mar- 
vellous for my belief, and I cannot but think for yours. Al- 
mighty God, in his infinite mercy, establishes one Church to 
day ; his adorable Son, after having purchased it with his 
precious blood, promises to be with it always, even unto the 
, end of the world ; and lo, tomorrow it is not ! tomorrow, 
like Noah's dove, not a resting place can it find for the sole 
of its foot amongst all the nations, that had originally sought 
a refuge beneath the droppings of its sanctuary ! If this be 
not impliedly disparaging the divine wisdom and foresight, I 
know not what is. If this be not calling in question the faith 
and obedience of the primitive Christians and martyrs, so 
often and so justly extolled, I know not what constitutes faith, 
nor what obedience. Before one, two, or at most, three cen- 



91 



turies have elapsed, episcopacy a human invention completely 
triumphs over a ministry established under the guidance of 
heaven, and recommended by men endued with the inspiration 
of the Highest. If this be true, let us hear no more of the 
unchangeable character of God, or of the perpetuity of those 
institutions which he does not expressly abolish. Let us hear 
no more of the extraordinary piety and holiness of our fathers 
in Christ. I can only wonder, that they had not discarded 
baptism and the supper of the Lord, as well as the ministry, 
by which they were to be celebrated. 

No, no, brethren, it will not, cannot do. Such a change 
and perversion of the true Church, such a successful usurpa- 
tion over it, will never be seriously credited by persons, who 
can be persuaded to dismiss all bias and prejudice from their 
minds ; who shall enter upon this investigation with a single 
eye to the discovery of truth ; who shall determine to follow 
where it leads, and upon this principle alone make up thei? 
judgment for time and for eternity. Party spirit may make 
us any thing and every thing ; may for a season blind tho 
eyes, and warp the understandings of men ; but almighty 
truth with irresistible force will eventually storm the ramparts 
of schism, and in the person of its divine Author, bring back 
the wandering to his fold again. 

Particularly, when I have also to remark to you, that thi$ 
alleged usurpation on the part of bishops was permitted to 
take place, without one noble effort to arrest its progress ; one 
burst of indignation from the injured, lifting up their cry to 
heaven, and invoking the continuance of that liberty where- 
with Christ had made them free. Let us bring the subject 
home to ourselves ; let us imagine, that the existing protest- 
ant bishops were to endeavour, either by force, or combining 
their efforts, by collusion, to proselytize all the various denomi- 
nations, and unite them in the one holy catholick or univer- 
sal Church. Would not one voice be raised against it, 
not one outcry against persecution, or if persecution were 
renounced, against the subtlety and intrigue of mere propa- 



92 



gandists ? You know very well, that upon such an attempt, 
the protestant world would rise up in arms against them ; 
they would vigorously repel every assault upon the respective 
citadels of their religion, and only yield up these beloved 
sanctuaries of their hearts, with their fortunes and their lives. 
If the sword were requisite, it would leap from innumerable 
scabbards ; if the pen alone, myriads of writers would exhaust 
all their theological learning in the contest, they would com- 
pose a multitude of books, and these, with the arguments 
they contained, would descend to the latest posterity. 

But be astonished, ye moderns, and wonder at the forbear- 
ance and even the pusillanimity of the ancients. If bishops 
were not the successors of the Apostles in office ; if their 
powers were not derived from them : then did they usurp 
their station, and lord it over God's heritage, as the expression 
is, without one exclamation of surprise, or one manly vindi- 
cation of the Church and the ministry it had received by the 
appointment of the Lord Jesus. All opposition was hushec 
as the foot of night. Our most recondite opposers can discov 
er no trace of it in ecclesiastical history. They are obliged 
to levy a tax upon conjecture, whenever they would settle the 
era of this wonderful revolution, and even then, they are un- 
able to agree. Some will have it at one period, and some at 
another. Rolling centuries intervene and divide their judg- 
ment, when it might reasonably be thought, that such an event 
could no more be obliterated from the memory of man than 
the era of the crusades, or the epoch of the reformation. 

Ancient authors indeed, and their works are abundant ; au- 
thors of unblemished reputation and undoubted veracity. But 
if you search the writings of presbyters, who never attained 
the episcopal rank, even they are silent on the subject, and 
mute as the very graves into which they retired. They say 
nothing of prelatick ambition, nothing about the invasion of 
presbyterian rights. If you look over the folios of bishops, 
there are no arguments to justify their revival and personal 
assumption of the apostolick office, none to silence the clam- 



93 



our of one intrepid champion of the ministry once delivered 
to the saints. On the contrary you will see, that all those 
writers of whatever rank and whatever country ; all those 
writers unit e in ascribing to episcopacy, the sanctity and the 
authority of a divine institution. They tell you, that the Apos- 

i ties nominated bishops to be their successors in the several 
Churches planted by them. They confine to them the sole 
right of ordination, and most cheerfully did presbyters acqui- 
esce in the speedy degradation of the few, who obtained an 
imaginary promotion, by the imposition of the hands of their 
inferiour order. And what is the fair inference to be gather- 
ed from this statement, this un deviating harmony in the re- 

I cords of those early times 2 To me, it speaks volumes in be- 
half of our construction of the scriptures. To me, it elevates 
episcopacy upon a lofty eminence, on which is inscribed in 
' letters of living light, This is my will, and this is my ministry, 
; saith the Lord of Hosts. 4 He that hath an ear, let him hear 
what the Spirit saith to the Churches,' 

Waiving however, for the present, the testimony of the fa- 
thers ; let us imagine it possible to resort to some other tribu- 
nal, with the view of determining our conflicting opinions. 
Let us imagine, that, preserved by some inscrutable providence 
of God, a Christian Church could be found in some seques- 
tered corner of the globe, which from remotest time had en- 
joyed no intercourse whatever with their brethren professing 
the same faith. We know that the twelve were despatched 
on their errands of mercy into far distant lands, and of most 
of them, that no authentick memorials have been transmitted 
to us. Imagine then, that a Church of their planting could 
be found. Would not the character of the ministry it possessed 
be considered a safe guide, in enabling us to decide upon that, 
which was instituted by the Apostles, whose labours are 
known, although we contrive to interpret them differently ? 
If, for example, presbyters alone were to be discovered in 
such a Church, would it not furnish our friends of that exclu- 
sive order with abundant cause of congratulation and triumph ? 

8 



94 



If bishops, with presbyters and deacons in reverent subjection 
to them, would it not be equally the source of joy and exulta- 
tion with us ? Upon such a statement, it would be next to 
impossible to avoid either conclusion, or to object to the 
providential character of the discovery itself, provided it could 



be effected. 

Be it remembered then, that it has. India was the place, 
and the celebrated navigator, Yasco de Gama, the discoverer, 
in the year fifteen hundred and three. 6 When the Portuguese 
arrived, they were agreeably surprised to find upwards of a 
hundred Christian Churches on the coast of Malabar. But 



when they became acquainted with the purity and simplicity 
of their worship, they were offended. These Ohurches, said 
the Portuguese, belong to the pope. Vhho is the pope, said 
the natives, we never heard of him ? The European priests 
were yet more alarmed, w^hen they found that these Hindoo 
Christians maintained the order and discipline of a regular 
Church under episcopal jurisdiction : and that for thirteen 
hundred years past, they had enjoyed a succession of bishops 
appointed by the patriarch of Antioch. We, said they, are of 
the true faith, whatever you from the west may be ; for we 
come from the place where the followers of Christ were first 
called Christians. 5 

Their Churches were therefore Syrian, but were soon sub- 



jected to the inquisitorial power of Rome. 6 At a compulsory 
synod, one hundred and fifty of the Syrian clergy appeared ;' 
and. by the Romish archbishop Menezes, 1 were accused of 
the following practices and opinions : That they had married 
wives ; that they owned but two sacraments, baptism and the 
Lord's supper ; that they neither invoked saints, nor worship- 
ped images, nor believed in purgatory : and that they had no 



other orders or names of dignity in the Church, than bishop, 
priest, and deacon.' At length, 6 the Churches upon the sea 
Coast were compelled to acknowledge the supremacy of the 
pope.' But those, 6 in the interiour would not yield to Rome. 
After a show of submission for a little while, they proclaimed 



95 



eternal war against the inquisition ; they hid their books, fled 
occasionally to the mountains, and sought the protection of 
the native princes, who had always been proud of their alli- 
ance.' 

These details I have extracted from the 6 Christian Re- 
searches in Asia' of the celebrated English missionary, Bu- 
chanan ; who proceeds to inform us, that when 6 two centuries 
had elapsed without any particular information concerning 
the Syrian Christians in the interiour,' (these who would not 
submit to Rome,) and when 6 it was doubted by many whether 
they existed at all, 5 he ' conceived the design of visiting them/ 
He did so, and found them in all their original simplicity and 
purity. He conversed with them freely ; and do you wish to 
know by whom their Church was founded ? According to 
•their records, by the Apostle, Thomas. After diligent inquiry, 
the good missionary says, * I am satisfied, that we have as good 
authority -for believing, that the Apostle Thomas died in In- 
dia, as that the Apostle Peter died at Rome.' Do you wish 
to know what was at this time the character of its ministry ? 
It was composed as it always had been, of bishops, presbyters, 
and deacons, the offices being as distinctly marked, as those 
of any episcopal communion whatever. Buchanan saw num- 
bers of the two lower orders. On one occasion, he c was 
received at the door of the Church by three Kasheeshas, that 
is, presbyters or priests, who were habited in like manner, in 
white vestments.' 6 There were also present two Shimishanas, 
or deacons.' -On another, he visited 6 Mar Dionysius, the 
metropolitan of the Syrian Church,' and after a long inter- 
view, in which the conversation turned upon protestant epis- 
copacy, he observes, 6 The bishop was desirous to know 
something of the other Churches which had separated from 
Rome. I was ashamed to tell him how many they were. I 
mentioned that there was a Kasheesha or presbyter Church 
in our own kingdom, in which every Kasheesha was equal to 
another.— Are there no Shumshanas ? (deacons in holy or- 
ders.) None.— And what, is there nobody to overlook the 



9c 



Kasheeshas ? Not one. — There must be something imperfect 
here, said he. 5 

And now, brethren, adverting to my introductory remarks, 
insisting upon the weight which Would be justly due to such 
testimony as this, could it be obtained, I may with undissem- 
bled satisfaction exclaim, Strange disclosure ! Most gratifying 
coincidence between our own and the apostolick Syrian 
Church ! For other discoveries, the name of the pious and 
benevolent missionary, Buchanan, has resounded with applause 
far and wide ; but for this, it has been suffered to glide into 
obscurity by the very men who had been foremost on the roll 
of his panegyrists. It did not comport with their previous 
partialities, and was not therefore allowed to diminish aught 
from their partisan zeal. The time had not arrived, when by 
a magnanimous effort, they could conquer all their prejudices, 
and seriously, endeavour, by breaking down the partition walls 
which now separate thp various denominations, to unite them 
all in the one mystical body of which Christ our Saviour is 
the great and glorious head. No, the time had not arrived, 
and I know not when it will. But this I know, that if this 
Syrian Church, so long secluded from the eyes of Christen- 
dom, had been presbyterian in its economy, we should have 
never heard the last of those notes of triumph, which would 
have been chanted throughout the dissenting Churches. The 
decidedly episcopal character it exhibits is what they cannot 
endure. It substantiates indeed all that we are in the habit 
of maintaining ; it proves episcopacy to have been as old as 
Christianity ; but then it lays the axe to the very root of 
schism, and the tall, umbrageous tree would still lift up its 
ambitious head, and interpose a dark shade between the na- 
tions and the light of revealed truth. 

Among other objections to the termination of our sectarian 
controversies, which I have heard from our protestant breth- 
ren, it has been said, that in order to effect it, we must all 
return into the bosom of the mother, meaning thereby the 
Roman Catholick, Church. But in my apprehension, the 



97 



objection is founded on views altogether erroneous and inde- 
fensible. Can you not reform without annihilating ? Can 
you not correct abuses without destroying the thing abused ? 
If the bible were to be now printed with numerous corruptions 
of the received text, could not those corruptions be hereafter 
expunged, and the inspiration of that bible be still maintained ? 
If our two houses of congress were to enact laws and enforce 
them, without even asking the approbation of the president, 
could not such proceedings be revised and corrected without 
forming a new constitution ? Would it not rather appear, 
that this violated instrument could be redeemed in a legal 
manner from the hands of its innovators, and be restored in 
all its original purity and integrity ? 

Undoubtedly, brethren ; and such was the nature and course 
of the reformation in England. It brought back the Church 
of Christ to its original state. Because the Roman Catho- 
licks believed in the bible, the reformers of that age did not 
reject it. Nor on this account did they reject the two sacra- 
ments of baptism and the supper of the Lord, nor the neces- 
sity of repentance, of faith, and obedience, nor the cross of 
Christ, nor the doctrine of the resurrection from the dead and 
a judgment to come, followed by the respective issues of 
heaven and hell. But all these they retained, as having their 
foundation in holy oracles, and therefore worthy of all men 
to be received and had in reverence. And for a like reason, 
did they adhere to such parts of the external order and con- 
stitution of the Church and its ministry, as they discover- 
ed to be upheld by the express warrant of scripture, and the 
practice of all antiquity. They did not set up a new Church, 
with a new priesthood ; but they reformed the old, they re- 
stored it to its primitive beauty and simplicity ; they swept 
away the rubbish of ages, which had collected around its 
altars, and presented it anew to Christ, as 6 a glorious Church, 
not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.' 

There is indeed much of misconception prevailing upon this 
subject. It would seem to be supposed by many, that the 

8* 



98 



claims of papacy were urged and successfully maintained at 
the first foundation of the Church, in imperial Rome. But 
no such thing : It was long ages after, that the bishop of this 
city claimed supremacy over his brethren of the same order, 
and arrogated to himself the title of Christ's vicegerent upon 
earth. Nothing of the kind appears to have been contem- 
plated by the early fathers. So late as the beginning of the 
fifth century, we have this pointed and conclusive testimony 
from Jerome ; ' Wheresoever a bishop may have been, whether 
at Rome or at Eugubium, at Constantinople or at Rhegium, 
at Alexandria or at Tani, he has the same merit and the same 
priesthood. The power of riches, and the humility of poverty, 
do not make a bishop either higher or lower, but they are all 
successors of the Apostles.' And this is the very doctrine 
upon which the English reformers proceeded. They retained 
the three original orders of bishops, priests, and deacons ; and 
resolutely and truly maintained, that the pope had no more 
authority over them, than they had over him. By apostolick 
appointment his predecessors were bishops of Rome and of 
Rome only. All other jurisdiction was gradually, and as they 
proved, wrongfully obtained. Among these reformers were 
Granmer, Latimer, and others, who were bishops in the Ro- 
man Church, and their change to the protestant faith did not 
vacate their episcopal rank. They were as good and lawful 
bishops afterwards, as they were before. The legality of 
their commission was as little affected, by the displeasure of 
the pontiff, from whom they withdrew, as it could have been, 
by that of the patriarch of Constantinople. Look at the lan- 
guage of Jerome, and you will readily discern, that he fully 
bears me out in the argument. The Apostles appointed bishops 
to preside over the Churches in various cities, towns, and 
districts of country ; but they were all independent of each 
other, no matter who had the largest, or who the richest dio- 
cess ; independent, for the very reason, that they were all 
equally the 6 successors of the Apostles.' 

To this primitive form of episcopacy then, did the English 



99 



reformers return, when they disclaimed all allegiance to the 
triple crown, and defied the thunders of the Vatican, The 
plea of being obliged to retrace our steps, and enter the Ro- 
man communion, in order to embrace the mother Church, is 
consequently in the mouth of a protestant altogether idle and 
fallacious. There is no such mother. If there were, Jerusa- 
lem is entitled to the honour, inasmuch as it was there, that 
the first Church was organized, with James to preside over 
its destinies. 

To illustrate my meaning, as clearly as possible, I will sup- 
pose that the present pious and worthy bishop at Bardstown? 
his presbyters, deacons, and laity were to renounce their own, 
and embrace the protestant doctrines. They would then stand 
in precisely the same attitude, which was occupied, at the 
reformation, by the English episcopal Church. A branch of 
the true primitive and apostolick Church would be reformed ; 
but a new one would not be created. There would be the 
same ministry and the same sacraments. The same good old 
bishop could continue to ordain and send forth ministers to 
feed the flock of Christ. In your estimation, in the estimation 
of all protestants, a papal bull could no more deprive him of 
his episcopal office, than could an anathema from the see of 
Canterbury, 02 from that of Philadelphia. 

With such views, views that are founded upon reason and 
scripture, I am entirely heedless of those ill advised jeers 
which are designed to associate our own, with the Romish 
Church in the familiar relation of a mother and her daughter. 
Were it true ; I have long since learnt, that real faith and 
holiness, undissembled love and benevolence, can be cherished 
among Catholicks, in a manner, that would do no discredit to 
the best protestant in Christendom ; and therefore, while I 
heartily abjure their doctrinal errours, I will still esteem the 
practical graces of many of their number, and love them for 
their works' sake. 

In drawing to a conclusion, permit me, brethren, to apolo- 
gize for the continuance,if not for the length of these discourses. 



100 



I could not imbody all that I have to say within a shorter com- 
pass, without materially infringing upon the ulteriour object 
in view. I wish them to be read, as well as heard. [ wish, 
by meeting every supposed or rather every prominent objec- 
tion, and by enforcing every prominent truth, to present this 
claims of our Church before a community but little acquainted 
with her origin, her doctrines, and her worship ; and for this 
reason, as little inclined to appreciate her value. 

You must therefore, for a few sabbaths more, continue yon* 
forbearance, and indulge me with a favourable audience. 
Hitherto, I have spoken plainly and decidedly ; but I disdam 
to be influenced by the malice and the bitterness of an evil 
spirit. Inferences indeed may be very fairly and justly drawn, 
altogether hostile to the belief and practice of many respecta- 
ble bodies of Christians, But I do not like the baptist the 
less, because^ he freely and boldly maintains the invalidity of 
infant baptism, and the necessity of performing the rite, in the 
case of adults, by immersion. He is doubtless honest and 
faithful to his sentiments, and I like him the better for the 
freedom and the intrepidity, with which they are avowed. 
How else, if he is right, and we are wrong, how else, can we 
be convinced of our errour ? For although my own opinion 
upon these subjects is believed to be fixed and stable as tbe 
everlasting hills, yet is it no such trifling affair to be in all 
things conformable to the institutions of the gospel, but that 
upon conviction I could gladly pass beneath the waters, and 
emblematically wash away my sins, in the fullest laver of re- 
generation. Never then, will I bestow an opprobrious epithet 
upon those, who deem immersion in riper years essential to 
baptism, and on this account, with perfect consistency, refuse 
to all others the privileges connected with their communion. 

■And what I willingly accord to them, I as confidently demand 
for myself. In investigating the truths of scripture, it will 
never answer to be excessively anxious about the consequences. 
The preacher must not fail to persuade men by the terrour 
of the Lord, because the doctrine exposes a hearer to the 



101 



pains and penalties of eternal death. Nor must he hesitate 
to proclaim and defend the true apostolick Church of Christ, 
from the fear of inferentially invading the pretensions of oth- 
ers. But is he satisfied of her divine right and heavenly origin? 
For her, he must exert ali the fervour of his heart, all the 
energies of his soul, all the strength of his intellect, until her 
righteousness go forth as brightness, and her salvation as a 
lamp that burnetii. 

And this, by God's grace and protection, I will continue to 
do. I will neither start at a shadow, nor tremble at the sound 
of a voice. I will neither court the phantom, good report, 
without good desert, nor resist the counsels of revelation 
teaching me, that 6 if I yet pleased men, I should not be the 
servant of Christ.' I would rather win an approving smile 
from him, in my honest endeavours to promote the cause of 
his Church and of rational religion, than creep to my grave 
with a coward pace, not daring to venture a word against 
schism, heresy, and errour, nor to hazard an opinion to the 
prejudice of superstition, fanaticism and folly. The latter 
course would indeed be both shameful and treacherous ; but 
the former will be sure to bring a man peace at the last, to 
impart strength and confidence to his departing spirit, and at 
length land him on those blissful shores, where there is rest, 
with glory and beatitude, treasured up for the true servants of 
God, for ever and ever. Axen. 



sermon VII. 

isaiah Ixii. 1. 

4 

For Zioris sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusa- 
lem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof 
go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp 
that burneth. 

Having already succeeded in proving, that the Roman 



102 



Catholick is no more than a branch of the apostolick Church ; 
that the pope has no greater claim to preside over its concerns, 
than any other Christian bishop ; and that consequently the 
English reformation, under the guidance of bishops, only re- 
stored things to their original purity and order : I proceed to 
notice an objection intimately connected with this part of my 
subject. 

For when we assert, that by divine appointment, episcopal 
ordination is alone legitimate and valid, an indelible stigma 
is attempted to be fastened upon it, owing to the channel 
through which it has been derived. No matter indeed, if the 
bible has been transmitted through the same instrumentality ; 
it is still pure and incorrupt. No matter, if the Almighty by 
means of the Roman Catholick has preserved to our use, the 
sacraments of baptism and the Lord's supper ; they are not 
the less sacred and divine. No matter, if presbyterian ordi- 
nation itself, by confession, can only be traced upward through 
priests of the same communion ; not one solitary voice is 
therefore raised to denounce it, as unwarranted and unscrip- 
tural. 

And yet, the moment we vindicate the sole right of a bishop 
to ordain and send forth the ministers of Christ's flock, that 
very moment all the prejudices existing against, and all the 
odium attached to, the Roman Church, are unhesitatingly 
brought to act upon us. Episcopacy becomes at once a relick of 
popery ; it is violently assailed as one of the most prominent 
marks of the beast, and is attempted to be written down and 
invalidated, under the pretence of this polluted connexion. 

But while 1 am far from being disposed to justify what 
protestants concur in considering the unhappy errours of a 
Church, that can still boast of her Ganganelli, her Fenelon, 
and her Bridaine ; it is well to remind you of a principle 
universally admitted in the science of civil government and 
of jurisprudence. Eor who is there to imagine, that the legal 
acts of a monarch, and even of our own president, are sus- 
ceptible of being annulled, through any stain, which may 



103 



attach to their private characters ? Does it destroy the effi- 
cacy of their signatures to the laws of the land 1 Does it 
cancel ail their appointments to the offices within their pat- 
ronage ? Or the judge upon the bench ; does it vitiate his 
decisions, and vacate the official stations, he has the power to 
£11 ? You know, brethren, as well as I can tell you, that 
personal purity and reputation have nothing to do with the 
lawful exercise of established authority. They neither add 
to. nor abstract one particle from, all vested rights. The 
same principle prevails in religion. The minister of the gos- 
pel may be a concealed hypocrite, he may have a heart as 
black as ebony ; and still his merely instrumental acts have 
all the virtue and efficacy they could have, provided they had 
been celebrated, by the purest hands and heart, in the priest- 
hood of Christ. Although his doctrines be false, and his life 
abominable in the eyes of God ; upon its being ascertained 
by his fellow men, those, he married, are not remarried ; 
those, he baptized, are not rebaptized ; those, to whom he 
has administered the holy eucharist ? are not therefore to be- 
lieve, that it has not been worthily received. And precisely 
thus with ordination ; I never knew a dissenting clergyman 
to be reordained, owing to the secret iniquity of his ordainers 
being afterwards revealed. I have never heard of an episco- 
palian divine, upon whom the ceremony was re-performed, 
because of the acknowledged delinquency of the bishop, who 
first conferred upon him, holy orders. And never, no never, 
but as a popular argument addressed to the ear, and not to the 
understanding, never can it be maintained, that the successive 
ordinations of a long line of Roman bishops have had the ef- 
fect of vitiating the episcopal office, originated according to 
the will of heaven. It would subvert every thing sacred, 
it would subvert the bible, the sacraments, the ministry, and 
the Christian Church itself. I would indeed have all the 
ministers of Jesus to wash their hands in innocency, to be 
zealous and faithful in their holy calling ; but if they will not, 
if they will prefer to be hypocrites with men, and dissemblers 



104 



with God ; praised be his name, it defeats not his grace, it 
disturbs not his institutions, it works no corruption of blood, 
nor attaints the rights and privileges of their successors 
to the end of time. Those rights and privileges remain as 
good and valid, as if they had been ordained by the twelvB 
Apostles themselves. The argument of the Church in her 
twenty sixth article is conclusive, and if necessary could be 
fully sustained, by an appeal to the private characters of 
numbers of the Jewish hierarchy. i Although in the visible 
Church the evil be ever mingled with the good, and sometime 
the evil have chief authority in the ministratio n of the word 
and sacraments : yet, forasmuch as they do not the same in 
their own name, but in Christ's, and do minister by his com- 
mission and authority, we may use their ministry, both in hear- 
ing the word of Cod, and in receiving the sacraments. Neither 
is the effect pf Christ's ordinance taken away by their wick- 
edness, nor the grace of God's gifts diminished from such, as 
by faith, and rightly, do receive the "sacraments ministered 
unto them, which be effectual, because of Christ's institution 
and promise, although they be ministered by evil men. Nev- 
ertheless, it appertained to the discipline of the Church, that 
inquiry be made of evil ministers, and that they be accused 
by those that have knowledge of their offences : and finally 
being found guilty, by just judgment, be deposed.' 

There is also another objection to our episcopacy, which 
nothing, but my desire to be very full and explicit in the pres> 
ent discussion, could induce me to regard as deserving a reply. 
For inasmuch as the principle for which we contend, necessa- 
rily demands an uninterrupted succession of episcopal ordina- 
tion from the Apostles' time to our own ; this succession has 
been triumphantly affirmed to be a mere fable. It is said to 
have been lost in the revolution of ages, and to have no pres- 
ent existence, save in the vain imagination and usurped au- 
thority of presumptuous men. . 

But to this I answer, that those, whom we are accustomed 
to honour as the fathers of the Church, always preserved with 



105 



the greatest care the catalogues of bishops in the respective 
sees, from the beginning ; and that they have been in several 
instances continued down to our own age, as may be seen, in 
the celebrated work of the historian, Mosheim. And even 
admitting, that our opponents, in this one particular, are par- 
tially right ; admitting, contrary to the testimony of the most 
learned modern divines, that there are defects in those cata- 
logues, that some names are omitted, and others erroneously 
inserted : all this would not disturb our claims in the slightest 
degree. For what is meant by an uninterrupted succession ? 
Not the regular and consecutive induction of bishop after 
bishop, in the same city, town, or country. For had the con- 
tinent of Asia been sunk in the ocean long centuries since, it 
would not have impaired the validity of the episcopal office in 
Europe or Africa ; although Palestine in Asia was the coun- 
try in which that office was first conferred. 

Much less is it requisite, that the incumbent of any diocess 
should have been consecrated by his immediate predecessor. 
The vacancy itself is usually created by death, and then, 
Would not the ordination of a bishop of Antioch, by the bish- 
op of Jerusalem, of Smyrna, or of Ephesus, be equally legal 
and binding, as if it had been performed in his life time, by 
the hands of the deceased ecclesiastick ? Our friends devoted 
to the government by presbyters will not deny it. A presbyter 
of their Church, ordained in England, on his removal to this 
country, can succeed to the ministry of the ablest divine they 
have ever possessed. And so in the case of episcopacy ; no 
matter where the ordaining bishop resides ; all whom he or- 
dains, whether bishops, presbyters, or deacons, retain their 
orders unto death, although they should repair to the utter- 
most parts of the earth. 

The senior bishop of our country, for example, was raised 
to the episcopate in London, and his residence on this side of 
the Atlantick has not deprived him of his commission, nor 
are those upon whom he has conferred the same office, the 
less bishops than they would be, provided he could trace up 

9 



106 



a line of predecessors in Philadelphia, to the apostolick age. 
All therefore, that is essential to an uninterrupted succession, 
is embraced by the well known fact, that bishops have, from 
time immemorial, conveyed to others the same ministerial 
rank and authority, they themselves enjoyed, and which Christ 
and his Apostles introduced into the primitive Church. The 
circumstances of time, place, and residence are altogether 
immaterial. The actual succession has never been lost or 
impaired, because ever since the first institution of the Chris- 
tian ministry, bishops have always existed, and always exer- 
cised, what they considered, the exclusive right to ordain and 
send forth their successors, and other labourers into the vine- 
yard of Christ. 

I have already, brethren, adverted to the first successful 
innovation upon this divinely established ministry in holy 
things. It was in the beginning of the sixteenth century, after 
fifteen hundred years of the Christian dispensation had rolled 
away, and the circumstances attending it are entitled to a brief 
review. The reformation, commenced by Zuingiius and Lu- 
ther, had extended to Geneva, a beautiful town of Switzer- 
land, and shortly afterwards the residence of the celebrated 
Calvin. This great man embraced with eagerness the re- 
formed doctrines, and propagated them with all the zeal, 
inspired by the conviction of their truth ; and all the success, 
usually following in the train of piety, learning, and talent. 
Confining himself at first, to what were really the corruptions 
of papacy, he did not immediately introduce the presbyterian 
form of government. He had himself been a presbyter of the 
Church of Rome, and although he necessarily retained the 
same office, notwithstanding his change of sentiment upon 
many subjects, it did not enter into his mind, that he was, in 
virtue of his inferiour rank, authorized to confer it upon oth- 
ers, by the imposition of his own hands. 

Humanly speaking, it was an unfortunate circumstance, that 
at this important period, there was not in Germany or Swit^ 
zerland, in France or Italy, a single Roman Catholick bishop, 



107 



who renounced his opinions and joined the ranks of the re- 
formers. Had it been otherwise, through his instrumentality, 
the reformation might have proceeded in the most unexcep- 
tionable manner. It might, and I am free to declare, that it 
would. Calvtn was not then in favour of a government by 
presbyters. He advocated no such change. He knew that 
episcopacy w T as of divine origin. He was so far from denounc- 
ing it as a corruption, that he would gladly have received and 
acted upon it, in the final settlement of the Church at Geneva. 

I am free to declare all this, because he has left it upon 
record. These are his words, 6 if they would give us such a 
hierarchy, in which the bishops have such a pre-eminence, as 
that they do not refuse to be subject to Christ, and to depend 
upon him, as their only head, and refer all to him ; then I 
will confess, that they are worthy of all anathemas, if any 
such shall be found, who will not reverence it, and submit 
themselves to it with the utmost obedience.' Can any lan- 
guage be more forcible or determinate ? He is most anxious 
for bishops of the reformed religion, — 4 If they will give us 
such a hierarchy. 5 He declares of those, who would dare to 
oppose their pre-eminence in the Church, — ' They are worthy 
of all anathemas.' 

For my own part, brethren, strong episcopalian as I am, let 
me assure you, that I could not feel myself justified in using 
this last expression. I could not find it in my heart to apply 
it to our present dissenting brethren, although Calvin, con- 
templating the very circumstances, in which they are now 
placed, did not hesitate to adopt it. And that this was the 
result of his sober conviction, uninfluenced by passion or 
prejudice, appears from the following testimony of Abbot, 
archbishop of Canterbury, and a warm advocate of the great 
reformer's peculiar doctrinal views ; 6 Perusing some papers 
of our predecessor Matthew Parker, we find that John Calvin, 
and others of the protestant Churches of Germany and else- 
where, would have had episcopacy, if permitted. And whereas 
John Calvin had sent a letter in king Edward the sixth's reign, 



m 



108 



to have conferred with the clergr of England about some 
things to this effect, two (popish) bishops, viz : Gardiner and 
Bonner, intercepted the same ; whereby mr Calvin's offerture 
perished, and he received an answer, as if it had been from 
the reformed divines of those times ; wherein they checked 
him, and slighted his proposals, From which time, John 
Calvin and the Church of England were at variance in several 
points; which otherwise, through God's mercy, had been 
qualified, if those papers of his proposals had been discovered 
unto the queen's majesty during John Calvin's life. But be- 
ing not discovered until, or about, the sixth year of her maj- 
esty's reign, her majesty much lamented they were not found 
sooner ; which she expressed before her council at the same 
time, in the presence of her great friends, sir Henry Sidney, 
and sir William Cecil.' 

So true it is therefore, from these authorities, which might 
be easily enlarged, both from his own works and those of his 
followers ; so true it is, that this eminent divine was fully 
persuaded of the apostolick claims of episcopacy, and that he 
earnestly desired to reform the Church under its auspices. 
But bishops were not to be obtained, and perceiving the im- 
portance of a settled ministry, he reluctantly availed himself 
of presbyterian ordination, and for a long time justified his 
departure from the old paths, on the ground of necessity 
alone. 

And what was the opinion of Luther, even more renowned 
than Calvin ? Speaking of the Romish bishops, and of the 
duty of obeying them, in the event of their acceding to the 
principles of the reformation, he says, 6 We would acknowl- 
edge them as our fathers, and willingly obey their authority, 
which we find supported by the word of God.' 

What was the opinion of Melancthon, universally admired 
among the reformers for the excellency of his life, and the 
extent of his erudition ? In his apology for the celebrated 
Augsburg confession, among many similar passages, this is 
particularly striking, < I w T ould to God it lay in me to restore 



109 



the government of bishops. For I see what manner of Church 
we shall have, the ecclesiastical polity being dissolved. 1 do 
see that hereafter will grow up a greater tyranny in the 
Church than there ever was before.' And never, brethren, 
was the prophecy of uninspired man more exactly fulfilled. 
No wonder that its author elsewhere demands, 1 By what 
right or law may we dissolve the ecclesiastical polity, if the 
bishops will grant to us that which in reason they ought to 
grant ? And if it were lawful for us to do so, yet surely it is 
not expedient. Luther was ever of this opinion. 5 Melanc- 
thon indeed employs yet more forcible expressions, in a letter 
addressed to Luther, in the year fifteen hundred and thirty. 
* Zuingle, 5 he tells him, ' has sent hither, in print, his confes- 
sion of faith. You would say neither more nor less, than that 
he is not in his senses. At one stroke he would abolish all 
ceremonies, and he would have no bishops.' 

What was the opinion of Beza, the learned friend of Calvin, 
his colleague and successor at Geneva? ' In my writings touch- 
ing Church government, I ever impugned the Romish hierar- 
chy, but never intended to touch or impugn the ecclesiastical 
polity of the Church of England.' 6 If there are any who 
reject the whole order of episcopacy, God forbid that any man 
of a sound mind should assent to the madness of such men.' 

What was the opinion of Martin Bucer, another highly 
distinguished reformer ? 6 By the perpetual observation of all 
Churches even from the Apostles' times, we see, that it seem- 
ed good to the Holy Ghost, that among presbyters, to whom 
the procuration of Churches was chiefly committed, there 
should be one that should have the care or charge of divers 
Churches, and the whole ministry committed to him ; and by 
reason of that charge, he was above the rest ; and therefore, 
the name of bishop was attributed peculiarly to those chief 
rulers.' 

Finally, what was the opinion expressed in the articles drawn 
up by the protestant delegates to the diet at Worms, held in 
fifteen hundred and twenty one, by command of the emperor 

9* 



110 



Charles the fifth, and at which Luther himself was present, 
confuting all his popish adversaries ? ' Our learned men have 
expressly yielded ordination to bishops, if there may be a ref- 
ormation.' 

Is it possible, brethren, to require more favourable testimony 
than this, in behalf of episcopacy, from the very men, who 
were the founders of a presbyterian ministry, and who only 
sought to vindicate its adoption upon the plea of necessity ? 
It is sufficient for me. I ask for no greater concessions from 
those, who still adhere to the schism, so deeply and so justly 
regretted by its authors. I will do honour to the candour and 
integrity of those early reformers ; although I am by no means 
satisfied with the propriety of their course ; in other words, I 
cannot recognise the doctrine of necessity. 

I will explain myself, by supposing that a body of Christians 
without a minister were to be cast upon some desert coast or 
uninhabited island, and deprived of all intercourse with their 
brethren of the same faith. In order to enjoy the sacraments 
of the gospel, would they be justified in selecting one of their 
number to administer them, when the Apostle expressly says, 
* No man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called 
of God, as w r as Aaron. So also Christ glorified not himself 
to be made a high priest V I know of no case where the 
necessity could be greater. But recollect, that in the course 
of divine providence, they were placed in this peculiar exi- 
gency, and why should they not humbly submit to that provi- 
dence, and by no act of their own interfere with the previous 
counsels of his word ? I can perceive no good reason for 
another course, and am convinced, that upon refraining from 
it, the disabilities under which they providentially laboured, 
would never be arrayed against them ; would constitute no 
cause for their final exclusion from the kingdom of heaven. 
But, as 4 in every nation, he that feareth God, and worketh 
righteousness, is accepted with him ;' so in the case of these 
exiled Christians, would the Supreme Governour of the uni- 
verse be more pleased with a reverent submission to his 



Ill 



ordering of the destinies of men, than with the arbitrary as- 
sumption on their part of the ministerial office. 

This train of reasoning is even more applicable to the first 
reformers. They should have reposed more confidence in 
God, and less in human expedients. They should have per- 
mitted their supposed necessity to have been tried by the test 
of time, and doubtless he, who overrules all things for the 
best, would have relieved them from their embarrassment, 
without their having recourse to that fatal schism, which has 
terminated in so many heretical doctrines and sects. 

But even admitting, that the plea of necessity was good at 
the dawn of the reformation, it cannot be maintained at the 
present day, when a government by protestant bishops is ac- 
cessible to all ; when the seceders from primitive order can 
return into the bosom of the apostolick Church, and thus 
compose the divisions and heart-burnings, so injurious to the 
extended triumphs of the cross. We have no cardinal Riche- 
lieu with us to deny the episcopal office to any sect, as he 
once did to the petitioning protestants of France, telling them, 
6 If you had that order, you would look too like a Church/ 
But protestant episcopacy is now firmly established, and the 
reformed Churches, wherever situated, can easily avail them- 
selves of its divine sanctions. That they do not, is their own 
fault, as much as it is the fault of the quakers, that they have 
no ministry and no sacraments. 

And here I am compelled by a sense of duty to speak of 
a separation from the original Church of a somewhat differ- 
ent character, although the difference is evidently nominal, 
rather than real. We have amongst us a denomination, re- 
spectable for their numbers, and distinguished for the warm 
fervour of their religion, who, while they reject in terms 
the ministry of presbyters, do but conform in terms to that 
of bishops. I need not name them. They trace up their 
history to the year seventeen hundred and twenty nine, and had 
their origin in the partial secession of a pious and talented 
presbyter of the Church of England, from the pale of her 



112 



communion. I revere the memory of that good man. although 
I cannot but think him to have been egregiously mistaken in 
the course, he deemed it advisable to pursue. In many re- 
spects, he was truly a burning and shining light. Upon most 
doctrinal and practical subjects, he preached wisely and well. 
What his precise views were upon the Christian ministry, 
it is now difficult to ascertain. At one time, he would seem 
to have discarded episcopacy, and at another to have retained 
it. Even in one letter, he says, ' That bishops and presby- 
ters are the same order, and consequently have the same right 
to ordain ;' and yet he was ' determined, as little as possi- 
ble to violate the established order of the national Church 
to which ' he i belonged and then he speaks of the Eng- 
lish bishops as having 6 a legal jurisdiction,' which appears 
to imply the right of the civil government to mould the 
Christian Church and its ministry, agreeably to its convictions 
of the prevailing necessity or expediency. 

But whatever may have been his actual meaning, or what- 
ever opinions he may afterwards have embraced, it is certain, 
that he deprecated an entire separation from the Church of 
his fathers, that he died in her communion, that he never 
ordained a permanent body of bishops, presbyters, and dea- 
cons for the spiritual benefit of his English followers, and 
that they have religiously adhered to his principles and prao 
tice. 

In relation to his disciples in North America, he however 
thought himself justified in appointing two gentlemen, 'joint 
superintendents* over them. To one of these, he gave, pre- 
ceded by a suitable preamble, this testimony under his hand 
and seal. i I have this day set apart as a superintendent, 
by the imposition of my hands and prayers, (being assisted 
by other ordained ministers.) Thomas Coke, doctor of civil 
law, a presbyter of the Church of England, and a man whom 
I judge to be well qualified for that great work. And I do 
hereby recommend him to all whom it may concern, as a fit 
person to preside over the flock of Christ.' But if, by this 



113 



imposition of hands, any thing more was intended, than the 
blessing of a good old man upon his fellow labourer in the 
ministry, or if the word superintendent was designed to be 
used as synonymous with bishop ; then are we called upon to 
believe the strange anomaly, that one presbyter, as mr Wes- 
ley styles himself in the instrument, can advance another to 
a higher order in the priesthood than he himself possessed ; 
then is the established order of things completely reversed, 
and inferiours in office are rendered capable of creating and 
commissioning superiours. 

But the truth is, no such power was claimed and no such 
promotion was intended. Soon after the ceremony had been 
performed, dr Coke left England, and, arriving in America, 
forthwith laid his hands upon mr Asbury, who was to be 
united with him in the proposed superintendence. For some 
time, they contented themselves with their original title ; 
but at length, sensible perhaps of its ambiguous character, 
they concluded upon a change, and announced themselves to 
the publick, in an address to the father of his country, as 
■ bishops of the methodist episcopal Church.' 

With what propriety, let the benevolent founder of the 
sect himself attest. In a letter to mr Asbury, he thus ex- 
postulates with him and his colleague, 6 In one point, my 
dear brother, I am a little afraid both the doctor and you 
differ from me. I study to be little, you study to be great ; 
I creep, you strut along. I found a school, you a college. 
Nay, and call it after your own names ! O beware ! Do 
not seek to be something ! Let me be nothing, and Christ 
be all in all. One instance of this your greatness, has given 
me great concern. How can you, how dare you suffer your- 
self to be called a bishop ? I shudder, I start at the very 
thought. Men may call me a knave, or a fool, a rascal, a 
scoundrel, and I am content ; but they shall never, by my 
consent, call me a bishop ! For my sake, for God's sake, 
for Christ's sake, put a full end to this ! Let the presbyteri- 



114 



ans do what they please, but let the methodists know their 
calling better.' 

And now, brethren, after the recital of language, alike 
perspicuous and emphatick, I ask you, if it can be seriously 
believed, that its reverend author ever imagined himself au- 
thorized, or that he ever designed, to consecrate any man to 
the episcopal office and dignity ? It is impossible ; or, if it 
be possible, it is at least equally rational to believe that black 
is white, and white black. There is indeed a mystery hang- 
ing over this business which a divine of the same Church has 
recently attempted to unfold. But my limits, as well as my 
inclinations, forbid me to be more explicit. 

It must not however be concealed that Charles Wesley, 
the brother and coadjutor of John, entertained a different 
opinion of his relative's conduct, and most severely did he 
condemn it, in a letter to a distinguished divine of our 
American Church ; 6 1 never lost my dread of a separation, 
or ceased to guard our societies against it. I frequently 
told them, I am your servant, as long as you remain members 
of the Church of England ; but no longer. Should you ever 
forsake her, you renounce me. Some of our lay preachers, 
very early discovered an inclination to separate, which induced 
my brother to publish reasons against a separation. As of- 
ten as it appeared, we beat down the schismatical spirit. 
If any one did leave the Church, at the same time he left our 
society. For fifty years we kept the sheep in the fold, and 
having fulfilled the number of our days, only waited to depart 
in peace. 

After our having continued friends for above seventy years, 
and fellow labourers for above fifty ; can any thing but death 
part us ? I can scarcely yet believe, that in his eighty 
second year, my old intimate friend and companion should 
have assumed the episcopal character, ordained elders, con- 
secrated a bishop, and sent him to ordain lay preachers, in 
America. I was then at Bristol, at his elbow, yet he never 
gave me the least hint of his intentions. How was he sur- 



115 



prised into so rash an action ? He certainly persuaded him- 
self that it was right. Lord Mansfield told me last year, that 
ordination was separation. This my brother does not and 
will not see, nor that he has renounced the principles and 
practice of his whole life ; that he has acted contrary to all 
his declarations, protestations, and writings, — robbed his 
friends of their boasting, — realized the nag's head ordination, 
and left an indelible blot on his name, as long as it shall be 
remembered. 5 And then he proceeds to lament, that he should 
have lived to see this evil day. He represents the methodists 
in America to have been betrayed and deceived. He even 
regards them in the light of a new presbyterian sect. In 
these last particulars, I fully concur with him* And still the 
preceding quotation, from his brother's letter to Asbury, con- 
vinces me that he adopted too hastily the opinion of that 
brother's assumption of the episcopal character. It explains 
what was before equivocal, in the transaction at Bristol. 
4 How dare you suffer yourself to be called a bishop? I shudder, 
I start at the very thought,' is not language to be used by the 
supposed ordainer of him, who ordained Asbury. It rather 
indicates grief and indignation, that his clerical blessing upon 
Coke, his probable imitation of the incident; recorded in the 
thirteenth chapter of Acts, which was not ordination to the 
ministry, should have been so grossly misconceived. And 
the subsequent expostulation, * For my sake, for God's sake, 
put a full end to this. Let the presbyterians do what they 
please, but let the methodists know their calling better ;' — 
this expostulation clearly shows, that he would not have the 
presbyter, Coke, much less the lay preacher, Asbury, confer 
holy orders, after the usurped example of the presbyterians, 
and in virtue of his alleged concurrence or delegated epis- 
copal authority. 

It is also necessary to advert to one other circumstance of 
an extraordinary character. Coke came to this country as 
superintendent, in seventeen hundred and eighty four ; but, 
after having exercised the power of ordination for about six 



116 



years, he appears to have become extremely dissatisfied with 
himself, and to have been fully convinced of the invalidity of 
his supposed episcopacy. In this state of mind, he wrote to 
bishop White of our Church, proposing a reunion of their 
respective Churches, and expressing this opinion of the min- 
isters already ordained, by Asbury and himself ; 6 1 do not 
think, that the generality of them, perhaps none of them, 
would refuse to submit to a re ordination.' In a subsequent 
interview with that distinguished and now venerable prelate, 
6 there was also suggested by him a propriety, but not a con- 
dition made, of admitting to the episcopacy, himself and the 
gentleman associated with him in the superintendence of the 
methodist societies.' The projected union was not however 
effected ; but to show you, that he was still aware of the defect 
in his assumed official rank, about eight years afterwards, he 
made a written application to the bishop of London to ordain 
a given number of travelling preachers in England, for the 
purpose of administering the sacraments to the people of their 
connexion. 

All these documents I have in my possessionem a printed 
form ; and what do they prove ? Most clearly and incontro- 
vertibly, that the Church, of which I am speaking, has no such 
episcopacy as is considered by us, or was considered by its 
founder and first superintendent, to be authorized and genu- 
ine. Of the former, in addition to his own letter, disclaiming 
in such nervous language the title of bishop, Coke remarks ; 
6 He did indeed solemnly invest me, as far as he had a right 
to do, with episcopal authority ;' but mark the consequences, 
6 he went farther, I am sure, than he would have gone, if he 
had foreseen some events which followed. And this I am 
certain of, that he is now sorry for the separation.' Of the 
writer's own sentiments, enough has been already submitted 
to convince you, that he placed no confidence whatever in his 
personal pretensions to the office be had exercised. Never 
did a lawful bishop apply for the reordination of those, upon 
whom he had imposed hands ; never could a lawful bishop 



117 



ask to be consecrated anew. Yet this was the course he felt 
himself constrained to adopt, and such is the confessedly im- 
perfect fountain of authority, from which is derived the min- 
istry of the methodist Church. Presbyterian ordination, it 
undoubtedly has ; but episcopal, it has not. 

And believe me, brethren, I regret the circumstance. It is 
no gratification to me, that its episcopacy is manifestly spuri- 
ous ; nor do I take any pleasure in stating these things, except 
as matters of fact, open to the inspection of all, and the legit- 
imate subjects of fair, dispassionate inquiry. In this, we are 
tolerated by the laws of the land, and God forbid, that it 
should be otherwise ; God forbid, that we should not speak 
the truth upon a concern so grave and solemn, either from an 
apprehension of the consequences, or because the truth may 
give offence. I have learnt a very different lesson of our 
Saviour Christ, when speaking 6 to those Jews which believed 
on him, 5 he said, ' If ye continue in my word, then are ye my 
disciples indeed : And ye shall know the truth, and the truth 
shall make you free.' 

I have learnt indeed that 4 Jesus of Nazareth, a man approv- 
ed of God,' ' by miracles, and wonders, and signs, which God 
did by him,' never hesitated on all suitable occasions to dis- 
course freely and unreservedly upon all the errours, whether 
of faith or practice, by which his hearers were liable to be 
seduced, and I breathe no wish for higher authority to excul- 
pate me for presenting the fullest information upon the subject, 
I have undertaken to discuss. Abuse is one thing, but argu- 
ment is another. Misstatements are to be severely repre- 
hended, but important facts are worthy of all acceptation. To 
pretend, that they are sometimes of such a nature, that they 
cannot be conveyed in the spirit of meekness and humility, of 
charity and brotherly kindness, is altogether idle and extrava- 
gant. Can you not reprove the vices of the sinner, without 
hating his person ? Can you not denounce an heretical doc- 
trine, without inveighing against the heresiarch, who maintains 
it ? Then are there no real graces of Christianity to soften 

10 



118 

the heart, to animate the soul, and give utterance to the lips, 
which should keep knowledge. 

For myself, I will yield to none, in the tolerant feelings I 
delight to indulge. Towards the wise and good of all denom- 
inations, my bosom expands with the liveliest fraternal affection 
and sympathy. I rejoice in the well founded belief, that they 
are Christians, such Christians as adorn the doctrine of God 
their Saviour upon earth, and as will hereafter enjoy his blissful 
presence in heaven. If it were not so, my religion would be 
a poor, vain, imaginary thing, the scorn of angels, the sport 
of demons, the precursor of eternal wo. Whereas I can with 
truth give the right hand of fellowship to all the saints of the 
Most High God, let their scriptural views upon some points 
be ever so variant, and their ministry and worship ever so 
adverse to my conceptions of the primitive Church, and the 
beauty of its holiness. I can pray for them, and breathe with 
them the same prayer to heaven. I can sit down with them 
before the same table of the Lord, and call him to remem- 
brance with thankfulness, as the blessed Author of our com- 
mon salvation. I can this day, with the utmost cordiality, 
minister to them the emblematick flesh and blood of our re- 
demption. Through life, I can make allowance for their 
imperfections, as I wish them to make allowance for mine. 
I can give honour, where honour ; and praise, where praise 
is due. And when my last hour is come, I am sure, that it 
will prove no diminution of my happiness, to be conscious, 
that I can only hope to enter the mansions of glory, in com- 
pany with myriads on myriads of my fellow Christians of a 
different persuasion, over whom will be pronounced the ap- 
proving sentence, ' Well done ye good and faithful servants — 
enter ye into the joy of your Lord.' 

Nevertheless, I must, while here below, clothed with the 
garments of mortality ; I must contend, most earnestly contend 
for the faith of Christ. It matters not to me, to what it relates, 
whether to internal graces or to external order. It is all holy, 
it is all divine, and it is all imperative. You have no right to 



119 



say of one gospel truth, that it is immaterial ; or of one gospel 
institution, that it is either indifferent or superfluous ; that it 
may be acceded to or resisted at pleasure. 

Hence I can never reconcile it to my conscience to be so 
tender of the mere opinions of men, as to lay my hand upon 
my mouth, and my mouth in the dust, rather than controvert 
a favourite prejudice, or expose myself to an injurious re- 
proach. But while T live, I will endeavour, through good 
report and through evil report, to serve the Lord with fear, 
and of him only will I be afraid. While I live, although it 
will be impossible to renounce, or even to modify the truths 
this day delivered, I will not be inflamed by the fires of a 
persecuting spirit ; I will not suffer this fiend of hell to rankle 
in my heart ; I will not cease to remember, that 4 now abideth 
faith, hope, charity, these three : but the greatest of these is 
charity.' And still, in defence of the true Church, the true 
Zion and Jerusalem, so often and so unjustly assailed, will I 
neither hold my peace nor rest, until the righteousness thereof 
go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp 
that burneth, Amen. 



sermon VIII. 

isaiah lxii. 1. 

For Ziorts sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's 
sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth 
as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that 
burnetii. 

With the preceding discourses has terminated all, that I 
am at present disposed to offer in behalf of the divine right of 
an episcopal government and ministry. When a few more 
subjects, intimately connected with the prosperity of our Zion, 



120 

shall have passed in review before us, it will be proper to 
enforce the general argument, and urge the entire claims of 
the Church, in some closing remarks, designed to inculcate 
the advantages of unity, and to expose the evils of schism. 

So far, I have borne a decided, though I trust and believe, 
an unexceptionable testimony against the great body of non- 
episcopalians, wherever located and into whatever sects divid- 
ed. ' My present object will be limited to those, who entertain 
a widely different opinion from us and all other Christians, 
upon the much controverted subject of baptism. 

Not however, that I propose to enter largely upon its dis- 
cussion. It would occupy too much time. It would interfere 
with the more prominent design of this investigation, and be 
liable to divert the attention of the hearer from, what I cannot 
but consider, a far more interesting and important inquiry. 
It is, nevertheless, very obvious, that one, among many causes 
of the separation of our fellow Christians from the Church 
universal, is to be traced to the mode in which we administer 
the sacrament of baptism, and also to the principle involved 
by its celebration in the case of infants. Can this cause, in 
either particular, be fairly and justly obviated ? 

As to the mode : In the absence of every thing approaching 
to a positive, verbal command, our judgment must necessarily 
be guided by such inferences as may be reasonably drawn 
from the inspired volume. Its examples are always made to 
vary in their character, precisely as one disputant contends 
for sprinkling, and another for immersion. They have not, 
for a length of time, and in all probability, for long ages 
hence, they will not control the universal suffrage in favour 
of one common interpretation. 

I shall therefore pass them by. I will not accompany our 
blessed Saviour to the stream of Jordan : For whether the 
rite w r ere there performed by sprinkling, by affusion, or by 
immersion ; like the circumcision, which he previously endur- 
ed, it would scarcely form an unalterable precedent for us, 
inasmuch as it was not Christian baptism ; inasmuch as cer- 



121 



tain disciples at Ephesus, who had before submitted unto 
John's baptism, were at the instance of Paul rebaptized in 
the name of the Lord Jesus. I will not undertake critically 
to expound the scriptures, which speak of the man of iEthio- 
pia, of Lydia, or of the jailer at Philippi, nor will I venture 
to display a profusion of learning, on the original Greek and 
Hebrew words, whether they actually mean to sprinkle, to 
pour upon, or to immerse. These things have been argued, 
pro and con, a hundred and a thousand times, and still the 
question remains debatable and debated, as it was, when first 
broached by our modern anabaptists. 

I rather prefer to inquire : Is the mode in any sense ma- 
terial ? If it had been divinely prescribed, or, which is 
equivalent, if it had been unquestionably the uniform practice 
of the Apostles to baptize in a particular manner, I would 
never answer in the negative. But under existing circum- 
stances, when conjecture must necessarily supply the place 
of an undoubted record : Is the mode in any sense material ? 
Is the inward and spiritual grace betokened by external bap- 
tism, in the slightest degree affected by the quantity of water 
used in its celebration ? 

Let us examine the matter analogically. There is but one 
other sacrament appointed in the scriptures of the new tes- 
tament, and can you tell me the size of the loaf broken by our 
adorable Saviour, at its institution ? Can you give me the 
exact weight of the several fragments of that loaf distributed 
by him to his disciples ? No, you can do no such thing. You 
cannot even tell me the particular species of corn of which it 
was composed. Nor of the wine ; you cannot resolve me, 
what kind was employed, or what amount was received. 
Bread and wine were indeed consumed, but all these minute 
details are suppressed. They appear to have been considered 
beneath the dignity of so solemn and sacred a transaction. In 
the eyes of our Saviour Christ, quality and quantity possessed 
no inherent value. His thoughts preferred to rest upon the 
memorable event, mere physical substances were proposed to 

10* 



122 



symbolize ; upon his precious death and sacrifice on the cross 
for our redemption. No matter, therefore, what may be the 
kind or what the measure of the bread and wine, of which we 
partake in the eucharist ; there is as much virtue in them, 
provided they are received in the spirit of faith, accompanied 
by thanksgiving, provided they do truly represent unto us the 
body and blood of our redemption ; there is as much virtue 
in them, as if they were the precise counterpart of the mate- 
rials originally blessed and bestowed by Christ. 

And thus, if there be any safety, any propriety in reasoning 
from a strongly marked and unequivocal analogy, thus it is 
with holy baptism. There is no express command, as in the 
case of Naaman the Syrian leper, and the waters of our coun- 
try are as good as the waters of Jordan. We may be, either 
immersed in or sprinkled by them, and if the sacrament be 
rightly received, our polluted heart and flesh will become 
clean : we shall resume the heart and the flesh of a little child. 
To deny it, would be an excess of that very formality, of 
which the Church is so often and pertinaciously, though so 
wrongfully, accused. It would cause the shadow to outvie 
the substance ; the figure of the seal, the wax upon which it 
is impressed ; and consequently our friends of the baptist de- 
nomination very properly maintain their opinion on the ground 
of apostolick usage and divine authority alone. And certainly, 
if that ground were tenable, for one, I would yield to it the 
homage of a willing mind. I would renounce all my present 
sentiments, in its favour, lest haply I should be found to fight, 
even against God. 

But permit me, brethren, to remind you of a remarkable 
passage of the scriptures, which powerfully strengthens my 
convictions of their errour. I allude to that wonderful act of 
condescension on the part of our gracious Lord, when ' he 
poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' 
feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was gird- 
ed.' The menial character of the office smote the heart of 
Peter, and warmly remonstrating against it, he declared, Thou 



123 



shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, if I wash thee 
not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, 
Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus 
saith unto him, He that is washed needeth not, save to wash 
his feet, but is clean every whit : and ye are clean.' You dis- 
cover therefore, brethren, the emblematick nature of these 
words, a ' 1 their spiritual application. Literally we know, they 
cannot be true. We know that the mere washing of the feet 
cannot cleanse the whole surface of the body. But still as an 
emblem of internal purity, it was pronounced, by the highest 
authority, to be equally significant with a more copious ablu- 
tion. The hands and the head of Peter were not washed, and 
yet he was ' clean every whit.' 

And what is external baptism, but an emblem, the outward 
and visible sign and seal of an inward and spiritual grace V 
You must be sensible, that it amounts to nothing more, and 
that I have here presented you with a perfect analogy. You 
have only to substitute Christian for Jew, with the antitype for 
the type, and Paul himself will tell you, 4 He is not a Christian 
which is one outwardly ; neither is that baptism which is out- 
ward in the flesh : But he is a Christian which is one inwardly; 
and baptism is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the 
letter ; whose praise is not of men, but of God.' Yes, breth- 
ren, in the spirit and not in the letter : Outward circumcision 
itself was partial, while the whole heart was sanctified and 
cleansed. Outward baptism may be performed by the sprink- 
ling or the pouring of water upon the face, and still this partial 
* washing of regeneration' may be as effectually accompanied 
by 6 the renewing of the Holy Ghost,' as if the whole body 
w r ere momentarily buried by immersion. That such was the 
opinion of the primitive Christians is obvious from their con- 
stant practice in all cases of emergency, particularly in that 
of clinicks or those who by sickness were confined to their 
beds. 

Recollect also that the Apostles invariably baptized their 
hearers immediately after their conversion, and that conse- 



124 



quently upon every profession of a true and lively faith, we 
are solemnly bound to imitate their example, and by no means 
delay the applicant for the mystical washing away of sin. But 
the preacher of the gospel has converted a caravan amid the 
burning deserts of Africa, or a polar tribe, with whom for 
nearly half the year, the rivers are congealed to ice. Can any 
man then forbid a cup of water, that these should not be bap- 
tized ? Must the rite be delayed, until those deserts are passed, 
and until a summer's sun shall have unlocked the frozen re- 
gions of the north ? Surely it would not comport with its 
speedy celebration by the Apostles of Christ. The baptist 
missionary would be obliged to sprinkle, or he would set more 
value upon the quantity of water, than he would upon that loss 
of time, for which he has no authority in the sacred volume. 

Nor is this the worst feature attending his principles and 
practice. For it might be contended, that as these cases will 
rarely occur, so, of the alternatives presented to his choice, it 
would be better to refuse sprinkling and incur the danger of 
delay. I will then present him with an unbaptized individual, 
and there are many such, upon his dying bed. To immerse 
him is beyond the moral power of man. And if he ardently 
solicits, if he pathetically pleads to be admitted into the mys- 
tical body of Christ, by sprinkling or affusion, must the baptist 
resist all his importunities, and deny him his heart's desire ? 
The Apostles were directed to 6 teach all nations, baptizing 
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
Holy Ghost ; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever 
I have commanded you.' And is not baptism here expressly 
exacted ? Are there any exceptions to its observance ? Do 
you find that the twelve in executing their commission, either 
excused or repulsed any of the mortally sick and diseased ? 
The respective answers are obvious. Baptism was emphati- 
cally required. No exceptions are made. It is not said, that 
the twelve excused or repulsed a single applicant. But were 
there not many sick in those days ? [s not sickness still found 
to be among the best schoolmasters to bring us to Christ ? 



125 



How then did the Apostles act ? Did they, under these 
affecting circumstances, baptize or not ? In the absence of all 
preconceived opinions and prejudices, their course can scarce- 
ly be doubted. For the command is imperative ; no particular 
mode is prescribed ; and the word, 3uttti':oj, is indiscriminately 
and properly rendered, to sprinkle, to pour upon, and to im- 
merse. 

How then did they perform the ceremony ? We read of some 
that were carried to Jesus on their beds and that he healed 
them. But show me a similar instance of the sick and dying 
being transported to the water side, and there plunged beneath 
the waters. The record is not to be found ; the instance 
never occurred ; and hence, combined with the preceding 
views, I conclude that this solemn ordinance was administered, 
at the house and bed of the invalid, and that he was not refus- 
ed its sacramental virtue, when from among the strong and 
vigorous there were daily added to the Church of such as 
should be saved. Hence whenever a baptist divine is called 
upon to confer the initiatory sacrament of the gospel upon the 
expiring sufferer, incapable of being immersed, I ask, whether 
it is better to obey the command of Christ, or rigidly to adhere 
to what must be considered a mere question of form, since 
ninety nine hundredths of the Christian world oppose his pe- 
culiar interpretation of the scriptures ? I reply that if he does 
err, it is wiser to err on the safer side ; wiser not to disobey 
a positive command to baptize, than to be afraid of falling 
into a ceremonial errour. While I give him all credit for the 
purity of bis motives, and the sincerity of his belief, I cannot 
but desire him seriously to reflect, that to refuse an anxious 
supplicant, and endeavour to quiet his apprehensions upon a 
modal plea, is scarcely compatible with such passages as this, 
6 Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every crea- 
ture. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.' If 
I am told as an excuse, that it is afterwards said, 1 but he that 
believeth not shall be damned ;' Is not the omitted clause, 
1 and is not baptized,' substantially supplied in the gospel ac- 



126 



cording to St John ? 6 Jesus answered, verily, verily, I say unto 
thee, except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he 
cannot enter into the kingdom of God.' ; Charity hopeth all 
things, believeth all things.' I hope and believe, that many 
of the unbaptized of Christian, as well as of heathen countries, 
will be saved. But charity doth not know, neither do I know. 
Upon an attentive perusal of the scriptures, the quantity of 
water is indeed, with me, a matter of perfect indifference. 
According to the rubriek and practice of the Church. I will 
not hesitate to employ every customary mode of baptism, and 
conscientiously maintain the validity of either and all. The 
Apostles laid their two hands upon such as were ordained to 
be the ministers of Christ, but should one of their successors 
in office, by the providence of God, be deprived of an arm, it 
would not in my estimation, in the slightest degree, vitiate his 
subsequent ordinations. 

Proceeding, therefore, in this brief survey, I now arrive at 
that other cause of separation from the Church, which is 
produced by our steadfast adherence to the practice of infant 
baptism. And here also I shall be compelled to waive a con- 
sideration of the most common arguments, which have been 
marshalled for centuries on either side of the question. That, 
derived from the commission to baptize ail xatioxs, is in my 
judgment perfectly sound and unanswerable, inasmuch as in- 
fants constitute a large proportion of every nation. The same 
may be said of the proof drawn from the analogy subsisting 
between the Jewish and Christian Churches, and which would 
be in part destroyed, provided infants were not admitted into 
the latter ; and so of some others familiar to the recollection 
of most of you, however conclusive and satisfactory, I do not 
propose to dwell upon them in the abstract, on account of that 
very familiarity. 

But amid the conflicting opinions of numerous interpreters 
of the bible : Are you in doubt about the propriety of dedi- 
cating your children to Christ, by bringing them to his holy 
ordinance ? Let that bible be examined, and tell me. Where 



127 



do you find any prohibition ? The question is indeed fre- 
quently reversed, and it is triumphantly demanded, Where do 
you find any command to baptize infants ? We think and be- 
lieve, that we discover it in the commission already referred 
to ; but as our opponents deny this, I shall not enter upon the 
discussion ; I shall prefer once more to recur to the doctrine 
of analogy, in order to expose the fallacy of their requiring, 
what would be universally considered, a positive requisition. 

For this purpose, let us advert to the sacrament of the Lord's 
supper. Throughout the gospels, the acts, and epistles, you 
can descry no such thing as an express injunction entitling 
women to its reception : you can disclose no instance of its 
being actually administered to them. And yet, our baptist 
brethren freely admit them to this blessed memorial of our 
Lord's crucifixion and death. They cannot consent to indulge 
in the same kind of scruples, which they urge in relation to 
infants brought forward to receive the other sacrament. They 
do not or will not perceive, that these last are comprised in 
the expression ' teach all nations, baptizing them ;' but to the 
word ye, 6 except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and 
drink his blood, ye have no life in you;' 6 As often as ye eat 
this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death 
till he come ;' to the word man, • Let a max examine him- 
self, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup 
to these words, they can attach a far more extensive significa- 
tion, and easily reconcile themselves to the idea of their em- 
bracing the female portion of society. All doubts and difficul- 
ties are here readily overcome. They never ask, with an air 
of triumph, Where do you obtain direct and unquestionable au- 
thority for permitting women to partake of the holy eucharist? 
And thus 1 prove to you the fallacy and inconsistency of their 
imposing question pertaining to infant baptism ; thus I prove 
to you, that the form preferred by us, Where do you find any 
prohibition against it I that this form is far more correct, and 
at the same time, strictly conformable to the example, they 
exhibit in a no less important particular. 



128 



And then as to the prohibition itself ; in vain shall any 
man search the scriptures with the view of producing it. It 
exists not on the sacred page, and that it existed not in the 
mind of Christ, is evident from the circumstance to which 
I shall now call your attention. As the Jews, to whom the 
gospel was first preached, and by some of whom it was 
joyfully received : as they had been accustomed to see their 
infants enrolled among the members of the Hebrew Church, 
it were no more than reasonable to expect, that they should 
be clearly apprized of the alleged change in relation to the 
Christian, if such a change was divinely authorized. It was 
thus with the innumerable rites and ceremonies, which Paul 
appositely termed ' a yoke of bondage.' They were expli- 
citly abolished, though not the benefits attending them. The 
absence of the sacrifice of sheep, and of oxen, and of the fat 
of fed beasts,, was more than compensated by the sacrifice of 
the true paschal Lamb. But if there were any benefits ac- 
companying circumcision, and to deny it were impious, then, 
if we have nothing answering to it, in the Christian economy, 
then are our children less favoured of heaven, than were the 
children of the Jews, and even of the proselytes to their 
Church, from among the surrounding heathen. And all this 
without one intimation from God, one such plain declaration 
as this ; Your children must arrive at the years of discretion, 
they must be personally capable of believing in Jesus, and 
of truly repenting them of their sins, before they can possibly 
enjoy, through baptism, the privileges bestowed, in the new 
dispensation of grace and glory. Is it possible to believe it ? 
Never, no never, can I consent to embrace a doctrine so 
adverse to the interests of our little ones, and therefore so 
much at variance with the benevolent character of their Fa- 
ther in heaven. While its tendency is, in this important 
particular, to exalt the Jewish above the Christian Church, 
I can never receive it upon the mere ground of inference. I 
must have something more explicit to prevent me from ap- 
plying water to infant brows, in the name of the Father, 



129 



and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. It would ill accord 
with the affectionate manner of our Saviour, when he says, 
1 Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them 
not : for of such is the kingdom of God.' It would contra- 
dict the testimony of Peter, in the first apostolick sermon ; 
6 Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of 
Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive 
the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, 
and to your chilpkex, and to all that are afar off, even as 
many as the Lord our God shall call. 5 

And strongly, brethren, am I fortified in these opinions, 
by another circumstance to which your attention must be 
drawn. How extremely devoted were the Jews to the long 
cherished rites, ceremonies, and doctrines of their religion. 
How tenaciously did they regard them, and with what impa- 
tience did they look upon the smallest innovation proposed 
by our Saviour and his Apostles. Sanguinary as was the 
initiatory rite of their ancient Church, they yet leaned to it 
with the utmost bigotry of attachment, after they had received 
the Christian name. They could not endure the presence of 
a converted Gentile. But 6 when Peter was come up to Jeru- 
salem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him, 
saying, thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat 
with them.' And afterwards at Antioch, 6 certain men, which 
came down from Judea, taught the brethren, and said, except 
ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be 
saved/ Even two of the Apostles found it difficult to devest 
themselves of their early prejudices upon the subject, as we 
may. learn from this narrative of Paul.' 6 When Peter was 
come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was 
to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he 
did eat with the Gentiles ; but when they were come, he with- 
drew, and separated himself, fearing them which were of the 
circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise, with 
him ; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with 
their dissimulation.' 

11 



130 



You may learn therefore, from these passages, and many 
more might be adduced, you may learn how wonderfully re- 
luctant the Christianized Jews were to surrender one of tire 
least prepossessing features of their exploded economy. How 
they contended with the Apostles for admitting the Gentiles 
to the privileges of the gospel in their uncircumcised state, 
and how, under this supposed privation, they denied the pos- 
sibility of their being saved. And now I demand, Is it credi- 
ble, that they who could thus argue and thus resolutely contend 
in favour of continuing a mere external ceremony ? Is it 
credible, that they should entirely overlook the circumstance 
of their children being denied an entrance into the Christian 
Church by any ceremony whatever, which must have been the 
case, if infant baptism did not supply the place of circum- 
cision ? 

Surely, brethren, it is not natural ; it corresponds not with 
the tender and affectionate feelings of parents towards their 
offspring ; it militates extremely with the well known history 
of a remarkably rebellious and gainsaying people. I should 
much sooner have expected to witness, throughout their inter- 
course with the Apostles, the loudest murmurs and complaints 
against the new order of things. In some such language as 
this, they would have been very apt to denounce them, and all 
their adherents ; You pretend to meliorate our condition, and 
to take away a yoke, which you tell us neither we nor our 
fathers were able to bear. Why then this dreadful outrage 
upon our natural sympathies ? Why do you give us a Church, 
which is to deprive us of our beloved children ; which refuses 
to embrace them in its sheltering arms ; which would rend 
asunder the ties so long and so happily preserved in our own 
inestimable Zion ? It is no good thing that we hear- of you ; 
we cannot away with it ; we reject it with the utmost scorn 
and indignation 5 we are free to declare unto you, that we 
greatly prefer our native altars ; where our children are, there 
will we be : we will live and we will die with them. 

Yes, brethren, something of this kind I should certainly have 



131 



expected from Jewish auditors, especially when the new doc- 
trine, excluding infants from the Church, was first broached, 
and before they could have become familiarized and reconciled 
to it, by the persuasive arguments of inspired men. And yet, 
not one syllable of the kind was ever advanced. The oppo- 
sers of the gospel, who bitterly inveighed against our Saviour 
for permitting his disciples to pluck a few ears of corn, upon 
the sabbath day ; who reviled him for healing the sick, at this 
season of sacred rest, never once thought of objecting to the 
Church planted by his Apostles, in consequence of this alleged 
innovation. Even they, who joined it, and were so desirous 
of incorporating with it their favourite circumcision, never 
protested against so extraordinary a departure from the old 
paths. Their children are not so much as alluded to. Their 
pretended disability does not extract so much as one tear from 
parental eyes, nor one exclamation of surprise or remonstrance 
from parental lips. About little things they w 7 ere loud and 
vehement in their opposition ; but about this so infinitely ex- 
ceeding them in interest and importance, so deeply calculated 
to wound the tenderest sensibilities of their hearts, about this, 
they were silent and unconcerned as the dead in their graves : 
Not only fathers, but mothers. 6 In Rama, was there 5 no 6 voice 
heard,' no 6 lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, 
Rachel weeping for her children, and' refusing to 6 be com- 
forted, because they' were exiled from the pale of the new 
Jerusalem. 

Wonderful silence ! Admirable stoicism ! How are we to 
account for their existence ? How are we to reconcile such 
glaring inconsistency ? Simply by endeavouring to remove 
the veil from the eyes of the blind, and confidently asserting 
that there was no cause for excitement, no room for animad- 
version, no disfranchising decree pronounced against the chil- 
dren of Christians. Into the bosom of the Church, they could 
be admitted by baptism, as their predecessors had been previ- 
ously admitted by circumcision. Had it been otherwise, all 
Judea would have been inflamed with resentment, the holy 



132 



Land would have glowed with indignation. But the unbroken 
silence of scribes and pharisees, of hypocrites and sinners, of 
believers and unbelievers, of Apostles and disciples ; this very 
silence furnishes a testimony in behalf of infant baptism, which 
the collected wisdom and ingenuity of its adversaries can never 
overturn. 

With this negative, though conclusive evidence, the records 
of antiquity uniformly agree. Not one primitive writer denies 
the usage to be of apostolick origin. Whoever traces it up 
to its source gives to it the sanction of this inspired authority. 
Justin Martyr of the second century, the celebrated author of 
An Apology for the Christians, speaking of certain believers, 
observes, ' a part of these were sixty or seventy years old, 
who were made disciples to Christ from their infancy :' and 
I know of no other process but baptism, by which infants 
could have been made disciples. 

Irenasus, a contemporary already mentioned, asserts, that 
' Christ came to save all persons, who by him are born again 
unto God, infants and little ones, and children, and youths, 
and elder persons ;' and as our baptist friends will not contend 
that they were born again through faith in Jesus, how can 
they reconcile with their opinions, his acknowledged applica- 
tion of this phrase to ' infants and little ones ?' 

Origen, of the third century, is still more direct : ' Infants 
are baptized for the remission of sins,' He also assures us, 
that 6 the Church hath received the tradition from the Apos- 
tles, that baptism ought to be administered to infants.' 

Cyprian, after the lapse of one hundred and fifty years from 
the death of the Apostles, with ' sixty six bishops' sitting in 
council at Carthage, decided, that 6 the Church had allowed 
of it, yea that children had better right to baptism than elder 
persons.' 

The pious and learned Augustin, of the fourth and Mth 
centuries, declares, 6 the whole Church practises infant bap- 
tism ; it was not instituted by councils, but was always in 
use ;' and ao-ain, 6 this the Church has alwavs maintained,' 



133 



Testimony of the same character might be easily multiplied 
to an indefinite extent ; but these extracts are sufficient ; they 
are corroborated by the practice of the Syrian Church discov- 
ered by Buchanan, and must prove eminently satisfactory, if 
you reflect, that these holy fathers had no slight foundation in 
the scriptures to justify both the decisive language they em- 
ployed, and that celebration of infant baptism, which they 
maintained, and of whose existence in their own times, they 
at least are credible witnesses. For when our Saviour says, 
' Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them 
not; for of such is the kingdom of God: 5 "Why should we 
obstruct the only visible avenue to the arms, which once en- 
circled and blessed them, and thus refuse them that baptism, 
by which alone, they can be united to his mystical body, the 
Church ? When he affirms, i Whosoever shall not receive the 
kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter there- 
in Why should we contravene his word, and insist that men 
and women are alone capable of that reception ? When he 
declares, f Whoso shall offend one of these little ones which 
believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were 
hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth 
of the sea :' Why should we proclaim them void of the only 
faith, which our Saviour could have contemplated, the faith of 
believing friends and relatives bringing them in pious charity 
to his holy baptism ? 

The truth is, that our divine Lord perpetually makes our 
own admission, into his glorious Church and kingdom, to de- 
pend very materially upon our growing resemblance to the 
innocence and simplicity of the infant mind. And I must 
confess to you, that my understanding is not sufficiently acute 
to perceive the propriety of that opposite doctrine and prac- 
tice, which require of children, that they must lose their state 
of negative innocence, that they must grow up into men and 
women, and become like them, by being defiled with the many 
pollutions of sin, so as to be able to repent and turn to God 
with works meet for repentance : which require all this of 

11* 



134 



children, before they can enjoy through baptism the privileges 
and benefits of a Church, of which Christ evidently considers 
them the fittest and the purest members. My understanding 
is not sufficiently acute for this, and therefore, brethren, in- 
stead of insisting, that your infants shall become as you are, 
before I can consent to minister unto them the sacrament of 
baptism, I prefer, after the manner of the faithful and true 
Witness, to exhort those of you, who remain unbaptized, to 
resemble them ere you venture to seek this instituted mode 
of admission, into the visible kingdom of God. 

On the whole, it would appear, that our adherence to the 
doctrine of infant baptism furnishes a no more valid plea for 
a separate Church and communion, than does the manner in 
which the rite itself is celebrated. The bias, springing from 
early and deep rooted prejudice, may not indeed permit each 
individual among us to perceive the force and strength of the 
arguments submitted ; but even when they are partially ob- 
scured by this, or some other congenial cause, it is of no trifling 
consequence to connect with the whole subject the claims, 
which we maintain, from having in our possession the autho- 
rized ministry of the great Shepherd and Bishop of our souls. 

I remember, that this gracious Being once demanded ; 
' Whether is greater the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the 
gift V And hence, a similar question strikes me, as extremely 
apt and cogent ; Whether is greater, baptism, or the Church 
and ministry, which through Christ sanctify baptism ? I think 
it extremely apt and cogent, because the correctness of the 
similitude and of the parts, of which it is composed, cannot 
be reasonably denied. Of the only fair and true solution, I 
leave you to judge, merely remarking, that the thing conferred 
can never be greater than the authority, by which it is confer- 
red. Where then is that authority ? To wmom has our Sav- 
iour Christ, by his Apostles, so clearly committed the ministry 
of reconciliation, as to promise, that he will be with them ; 
that he will acknowledge all their acts, and sanctify them to 
the soul's health of such, as rightly receive them ? I reply, 



135 



to the legally ordained ministers of his own Church, and not 
to those, who venture to administer the sacraments, and preach 
the word in Churches, that were never heard of prior to the 
era of the reformation ; who contest the mode and the sub- 
jects of baptism, without previously vindicating their authority 
to baptize, in any mode whatever. 

Aad may Almighty God, of his infinite mercy, give you 
wisdom to discern, and grace to follow and obey from the 
heart, that form of doctrine, w T hich has been delivered you. 
May it prove unto you, not only profitable for doctrine ; but 
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 
that ye may be perfect, that ye may be thoroughly furnished 
unto all good works. And to him, the Father, to the Son, 
and Holy Ghost, three persons and one God, in the Unity of 
an ever blessed Trinity, shall be ascribed all the honour, and 
glory, and dominion, and praise, world without end. Amen. 



SERMON IX. 

isaiah lxii. 1. 

For Zions sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusa- 
lem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof 
go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp 
that burnetii. 

You are aware, brethren, that the defence of the Church, in 
which I am now engaged, is founded upon her close adherence 
to divine institutions. Usages indifferent in themselves have 
not been brought forward in a prominent manner. They must 
be debated and settled on the sole ground of expediency, and 
be left subject to such after changes or modifications, as the 



136 



sage and judicious may consider advisable. But when you 
approach the sacred volume, no longer may you determine 
for yourselves, by presuming to annul what God hath estab- 
lished. No longer may you hesitate to put forth your best 
exertions, in endeavouring to adorn the doctrine of God your 
Saviour in all things. His ordinances are holy. His com- 
mands are imperative. They must be revered, and they must 
be obeyed. Wherever violated, wherever discarded in favour 
of the 6 witty inventions' of men, ignorance is the best excuse, 
the only admissible plea ; and even this, in those cases merely, 
in which essentials are still preserved, and the heart is sensi- 
bly alive to the righteousness, which is of God, by faith. 

And happy am I, in the belief, that this truly benign and 
merciful Being will not be severely strict to mark offences ; 
happy in believing, that, 6 if there be first a willing mind, it 
is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according 
to that he hath not.' So that if he knows nothing of episco- 
pacy ; nothing of its divine authority ; to condemn him, who, 
under different circumstances, would gladly embrace it, com- 
ports not with the pleasing view T s I am delighted to cherish, 
in relation to the goodness, and benevolence, and mercy of 
our Father in heaven. 

It is for the obstinate and refractory, the presumptuous vio- 
lators of his will and word, that he will hereafter muster all 
his terrours, and visit them with his sore displeasure. For 
them, it will prove no slight affair, to have attempted all in 
their power to rob his Church of its glory, his ministers of 
their authority, and his gospel of its intended harmonious 
influence over the hearts of men. But, at the great day of 
account, a rigid inquiry will be instituted ; if I may be per- 
mitted the expression, a solemn inquest held over the mangled 
body of Christ ; when some such interrogations as these will 
be very apt to put down the high look and the proud heart of 
the scorner. Why did ye cast off the Zion of my choice, and 
the spouse of mine Anointed ? Why did ye cease to ' walk 
about Zion and go round about her,' to 6 tell the towers there- 



137 



of,' to 6 mark well her bulwarks' and ' consider her palaces, 
that ye' might ' tell it to the generation following V Why did 
ye forsake her, the true bride of 6 the fountain of living waters,' 
and in preference hew out to yourselves 6 cisterns, broken cis- 
terns, that' could ' hold no water V I gave ye my sabbaths and 
my sanctuaries, but ye have polluted them by your strifes and 
contentions ; my Church, but ye have wasted it with heresy 
and schism ; my ministering servants and ambassadors, but ye 
have lifted up the heel against them, and usurped their office ; 
my gospel and its ordinances, but ye have moulded the one 
after the imagination of your own hearts, and renounced the 
other in compliance with human counsels and worldly preju- 
dices. Yes, brethren, interrogations and declarations, such as 
these, will doubtless probe the disimbodiecl spirit of many a 
wanton schismatick in the day of recompense, and no easy 
matter will it be found to disarm the arrows of the Almighty 
of their sting, and extenuate numerous flagrant departures 
from the written word. 

In the number of these, I have ever regarded the rejection 
of the holy rite of confirmation, or the laying on of hands upon 
private Christians, as among the most extraordinary and 
unjustifiable. It is indeed a subject little thought of, and 
consequently little understood, in this western world. Few, 
perhaps, have ever heard of such an institution, or if they have 
heard, it has been from the mouth of the reviler, branding it 
as one of the many remnants of papal superstition, originally 
devised during the dark ages, and surreptitiously brought to 
light in the hope and expectation of bewildering the intellects, 
and fettering the consciences of men. With what justice, with 
what sincere reverence for divine and heavenly things, I pro- 
pose to examine, and great will be my disappointment, if a 
failure should ensue, in this attempt to establish the scriptural 
foundation of the rite, its repeated celebration by the Apos- 
tles, and its universal reception in the primitive Church. 

To begin with its scriptural foundation ; I know of but one 
passage where it is specifically spoken of in the abstract, or 



138 



disconnected with its commemoration. But then so clearly 
and distinctly, that he who runs may read and understand. It 
is by St Paul in the sixth chapter of his epistle to the Hebrews; 
St Paul, who had previously rebuked certain disciples for 
their ignorance of 6 the first principles of the oracles of God 
who had accused them of becoming 6 such as have need of 
milk, and not of strong meat although it ' belongeth to them 
that are of full age and who, from these premises, drew the 
inference, 6 therefore, leaving the principles of the doctrine of 
Christ, let us go on unto perfection ; not laying again the 
foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith to- 
wards God, of the -doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on op 
hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judg- 
ment.' As if he had said : Let us no longer linger in the 
vestibule, when we should penetrate the interiour edifice of 
the gospel. JLet us no longer be obliged to investigate and 
master its primary truths and fundamental axioms. These 
should be already familiar to our minds, and instead of requir- 
ing additional research, we had much better evince their prac- 
tical influence on our lives, by relinquishing all doubtful 
disputations about their efficacy, and all subtle inquiries per- 
taining to their general obligation. As the rudiments of our 
Saviour's doctrine, we cannot fail to embrace them ; we 
might as well renounce him for our teacher, as attempt to 
forego them ; we must confide in them, as divinely ordained, 
and unsusceptible of change ; so that not laying again their 
foundation, not daring to question their integrity, we must 
leave them as so many undoubted principles indelibly written 
upon our hearts, and happily enabling us to perfect our pursuit 
of religion, from a full persuasion of their elementary truth. 

With this fair and natural construction of the Apostle's 
argument, I proceed to remark, that he enumerates the ' lay- 
ing on of hands,' among the leading articles of the Christian 
faith. But lest it should be thought to refer to ministerial 
ordination, your attention is invited to a very plain and radical 
distinction. Ordination is a ceremony necessarily limited to 



139 



such as devote themselves to the work of the ministry. It has 
not the universal application involved by the language of Paul ; 
who addresses himself to the great body of his countrymen, 
and not to the clerical orders ; who invites them, without any 
discrimination whatever, as believers, and not as evangelists, 
to leave the principles of the doctrine of Christ. There is 
consequently, no reasonable pretence for singling out one ar- 
ticle from the residue, and confining its operation to any one 
description of men. In this case, it would be, not so much 
one of the constituent principles of the gospel, as the pre- 
scribed mode of designating the authorized teachers of those 
principles. 

Besides, in the passage before us, it is associated with sub- 
jects, having the most comprehensive signification. Repent- 
ance and faith are required of all. Baptism is an ordinance, 
from which no Christian can rightfully p]ead exemption. The 
resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment are events, in 
which all mankind will hereafter participate. Confirmation 
or the laying on of hands must therefore, by the rule of anal- 
ogy, be a doctrine of equal obligation and extent. For no 
other reason was it classed with principles, constituting the 
basis of our religion ; for no other reason was it enumerated 
immediately after baptism, but to show its proper place in the 
order of events. As faith follows repentance, and an eternal 
judgment, the resurrection of the dead ; so does, and should, 
the laying on of hands succeed to the reception of baptism. 

But not to detain you longer with inductions however legit- 
imate, let us advert, brethren, to apostolick usage, to facts, 
which have ever been considered stubborn things, and that 
will be found to bear me out most triumphantly, in this course 
of reasoning. In the eighth chapter of the Acts, it appears 
that when Philip, one of the seven deacons, ' went down to 
the city of Samaria,' 6 preaching the things concerning the 
kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were bap- 
tized, both men and women.' And still, something more was 
deemed essential to the completion of their Christian charac- 



140 



ter. Nor is the reason withheld. It was because the Holy 
Ghost * was fallen upon none of them ; only they were bap- 
tized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 5 Hence, 'when the 
Apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had 
received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John : 
Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they 
might receive the Holy Ghost.' And then, continues the in- 
spired writer, 4 then laid they their hands on them, and 
they received the Holy Ghost.' 

Could any narrative be more satisfactory ? Both men and 
women were the subjects of baptism, and of the subsequent 
rite, it could not, therefore, be the same with ministerial 
ordination. Is it possible for any history, written for our 
instruction, to be more minute and circumstantial, or to ex- 
hibit a more practical commentary on the sixth of Hebrews ? 
St Paul, in tfyat chapter, speaks of six distinct principles of 
the doctrine of Christ, and here were two of them publickly 
administered in the precise order, in which they are there 
arranged ; the baptism of private Christians, by Philip the 
deacon, being almost immediately followed by the laying on of 
the hands of Peter and John, the Apostles. 

Nor are we to wonder at the alacrity of their attendance. 
It was the first attempt to spread the doctrines of the risen 
Saviour beyond the borders of Judea, and this circumstance 
rendered \t highly important, that every thing connected with 
the transaction should assume the form of an established pre- 
cedent, and as such be handed down to future ages, as worthy 
of all imitation. But as Philip was only a subordinate officer 
in the Church, he could not celebrate the rite of confirmation, 
and the Apostles instantly deputed two of their number to 
remedy the deficiency ; in what they considered a pressing 
exigency, to celebrate this holy ordinance. So that notwith- 
standing the neglect and practical contempt, which it sustains 
in this eventful age, at the hands of the seceding Churches ; 
believe me, brethren, it should be with us a source of unfeigned 
pleasure to reflect, that the first mission ever undertaken by 



141 



the Apostles, in their character of evangelists, was for the 
express purpose of imposing hands upon the baptized converts 
of Samaria. 

Neither let us be persuaded to think ourselves released from 
its reception, on the ground that the course pursued was ex- 
traordinary in its character, and restricted in its design. For 
if this be true, How could the laying on of hands be termed 
cne of 6 the first principles of the oracles of God ?' How are 
we to account for its being again resorted to in the instance 
of the twelve disciples of John, whom St Paul met at Ephesus, 
and directly inquired, 6 Have ye received the Holy Ghost since 
ye believed ? And they said unto him, we have not so much 
as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said 
unto them, unto what then were ye baptized ? And they said, 
unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized 
with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that 
they should believe on him which should come after him, that 
is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized 
in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his 
haj^ds upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them ; and they 
spake with tongues, and prophesied.' 

See ye not therefore, brethren, how completely the whole 
tenour of this transaction corresponds with the preceding ? In 
that, baptism was followed by confirmation and the descent of 
the Holy Ghost : So in this. In that, it was an inferiour 
minister, who baptized, and apostolick hands, that confirmed: 
So in this. Paul having elsewhere thanked God that he had 
baptized none, but Crispus and Gaius, and the household of 
Stephanas. And what additional evidence can any man in 
reason require, either in favour of confirmation itself, or in 
proof of its being only performed by the highest order in the 
Christian priesthood ? An order now known to episcopalians 
alone ; in whose judgment, and as you have already seen, in 
the judgment of all antiquity, bishops are the duly authorized 
successors and representatives of the Apostles, by whom they 
were exclusively empowered both to ordain and confirm in the 

12 



142 



one holy universal Church. What additional evidence can any 
man in reason require 1 

I repair as usual to the fathers of the primitive Church, and 
find myself at once surrounded by testimony, inferiour only to 
that of the Apostles. Among the most renowned of them is 
Tertullian, a writer of acknowledged merit of the second 
century, about eighty years after the death of John. He in- 
forms us, in the clearest terms, that 4 After baptism, is the 
laying on of hands ; by blessing and prayer, inviting the Holy 
Spirit, who graciously descends from the Father upon the 
bodies cleansed and blessed by baptism. 5 And again, i The 
flesh is sealed, that the soul may be defended, the flesh is shad- 
owed by imposition of hands, that the soul may be illuminated 
by the Spirit.' 

To him succeeded, after the lapse of fifty years, Cyprian 
the famous bishop of Carthage, who is not less explicit in his 
language, and indeed traces up confirmation to the Apostles 
themselves : 6 They who believed in Samaria, were baptized ; 
prayer was said over them, and hands laid upon them, that the 
Holy Ghost might be invoked and poured upon them ; which' 
he continues 4 is still the custom with us, that they who are 
baptized into the Church, should be solemnly dedicated by 
the bishops of the Church, and may receive the Holy Ghost 
by the imposition oi hands.' 

Cornelius, of the same age, and bishop of Rome, speaking 
of a celebrated disorganizer, uses these remarkable words ; 
6 Though Novatus were baptized, yet being not consummated 
with the seal of confirmation, he could not receive the Holy 
Ghost.' 

Ambrose, bishop of Milan, who flourished in the middle of 
the fourth century, reminds the youthful Christian, 6 Thou hast 
received the spiritual seal, God the Father hath sealed thee, 
Christ hath confirmed thee.' And elsewhere, ( By imposition 
of hands, it is believed, the Spirit may be received, which is 
wont to be done after baptism, by the bishop, for the confir- 
mation of unity in the Church.' 



143 



More copious evidence than this cannot surely be expected ; 
it supersedes the necessity of argument, and I will only annex 
the equally satisfactory account of Jerome, who lived in the 
fourth century, and who observes ; 6 It is the custom of the 
Church for bishops to go and invoke the Holy Spirit by im- 
position of hands, on such as were baptized by presbyters 
and deacons, in villages and places remote from the mother 
Church.' 4 Do you ask,' he says, 6 where this is written ? In 
the Acts of the Apostles,' is his reply. Words more definite 
or luminous, cannot be chosen, and when united with the pre- 
ceding extracts, they form the unequivocal testimony of nu- 
merous highly distinguished and pious Christian divines of 
the primitive Church, in favour of the apostolick origin and 
universal observance of confirmation, or the laying on of hands, 
upon the disciples of Jesus. 

Who then shall presume to disparage its virtue, or to pro- 
nounce it an innovation upon ecclesiastical discipline and the 
ordinances divinely established ? Are we wiser than the fa- 
thers, more competent to understand the facts recorded in the 
scriptures, and better qualified to bear testimony to the doc- 
trines and institutions, which obtained in the earliest times ? 
Are we even wiser than those scriptures themselves, than 
Paul, and Peter, and John, who spake and acted as they were 
moved by the Holy Ghost ? Let me not hear of Roman Cath- 
olick corruptions, a most favourite theme, with which to 
impose upon the prejudices of the multitude. This rite and 
these testimonies existed long before the rise of popery, and 
the single circumstance of its unlimited adoption speaks vol- 
umes in behalf of its heavenly origin. 

Upon no other principle can we account for the undeviating 
practice of it, on the part of all Christendom. If it had been 
the invention of uninspired men, opposition would have dis- 
covered itself in some quarter or other. But in the best and 
purest ages, it appears to have been as extensively known and 
embraced as either of the sacraments ; an event, that would 
have been morally impossible, had it not commenced in dem- 



144 



onstration of the Spirit and in power ; and therefore, Jerome 
boldly argues, ' if there were no authority of scripture for it, 
yet the consent of all the world, in this particular, is as good 
as a command that is, as clearly shows its apostolick deri- 
vation. You cannot say this of presbyterianism or of publick 
extemporary prayer ; they never were universal ; they sprung 
into existence in the sixteenth century, have always been 
strenuously opposed, and are still neglected by an immense 
majority of Christians. 

Happy then, brethren, are those, who adhere to a Church, 
under whose auspices, they may yet enjoy the sanctifying ordi- 
nance under review ; this merciful medium of grace, recom- 
mended to our affectionate regard, as well by its divine sanc- 
tion, as by the universal usage of all, who for the first fifteen 
centuries of the Christian dispensation, named the name of 
Christ. 

And even when the reformation in continental Europe in- 
troduced, through what was deemed necessity, a new order 
of things, throwing away with the tares of superstition, many 
pure grains of heavenly wheat ; even then, it was but slowly 
and with great apparent reluctance, that the rite of confirma- 
tion was abandoned. I gather this from Calvin, who would 
seem to identify it, with the laying on of hands enumerated 
among the rudiments of Christianity by St Paul, and who re- 
marks, that 6 Young persons, when their infancy was past, and 
they had been instructed in their faith, offered themselves for 
catechism, which they had after baptism ; but another rite was 
applied, viz : the imposition of hands.' In another work, the 
fourth book of his institutes, he even explains the benefits 
attached to its celebration, saying, ' It was an ancient custom 
in the Church for the children of Christians, after they were 
come to years of discretion, to be presented to the bishop, in 
order to fulfil that duty which was required of adults who 
offered themselves to baptism. For such persons were placed 
among the catechumens, till, being duly instructed in the mys- 
teries of Christianity, they were enabled to make a confession 



145 



of their faith before the bishop and all the people. Therefore, 
those who had been baptized in their infancy, because they 
had not then made such a confession of faith before the Church, 
at the close of childhood, or the commencement of adolescence, 
were again presented by their parents, and were examined by 
the bishop according to the form of the catechism, which was 
then in common use. That this exercise, which deserved to 
be regarded as solemn and sacred, might have the greater 
dignity and reverence, they also practised the ceremony of 
imposition of hands. Thus the youth, after having given sat- 
isfaction respecting his faith, was dismissed with a solemn 
benediction.' 

Thus you perceive, that while he acknowledges it to have 
been required of persons baptized in adult years, he also ad- 
mits, that the custom was very ancient in relation to such as 
were baptized in infancy. Afterwards he confesses, that Je- 
rome considered it 6 a custom of the Apostles,' and that he 
represented it to have been £ committed wholly to the bishops.' 
The great reformer was indeed utterly opposed, as we are, to 
the Roman views of confirmation being a sacrament of the 
gospel ; but still, at the conclusion of the passages I have 
cited, he observes, 8 Such imposition of hands, therefore, as is 
simply connected with benediction, I highly approve, and wish 
it was now restored to its primitive use, uncorrupted by super- 
stition.' How similar to the solicitude expressed by Melanc- 
thon on the subject of episcopacy ; 6 1 would to God it lay in 
me to restore the government of bishops.' But alas ! it is 
more easy to open the floodgates of errour, than, once opened, 
to arrest the desolating progress of the stream. The reform- 
ers found it thus. Melancthon sighed in vain for an apostolick 
ministry ; Calvin, for what we contend to be the equally apos- 
tolick rite of confirmation. They could not control the 
waters themselves had taught to flow. Carried away by the 
impetuous torrent, they could not prevail upon the new Church- 
es to retrace their misguided steps. Luther was wiser, he 
retained the rite under discussion : it is still practised in the 

12* 



146 



Lutheran Churches, and by those in Bohemia. But by our 
own diversified sects, it is altogether renounced ; it is reserved 
to episcopalians alone to yield a hearty obedience to its scrip- 
tural authority, and to partake of its spiritual blessings. 

Individuals, however, have deeply lamented its suppression. 
In the practical discourses of Colman, a distinguished congre- 
gationalist of Boston, in the former part of the last century, I 
find this decisive testimony in its favour, closing with a quota- 
tion from Ostervald, a yet more distinguished Swiss presbyte- 
rian, of the same age ; 6 The confession of the name of Christ 
is after all very lame, and will be so till the discipline which 
Christ has ordained be restored, and the rite of confirmation 
be recovered to its first use and solemnity. The reason why 
the one is dwindled into a useless name is because the other 
is lost. There is a discipline which our Saviour has institut- 
ed, which should be to his Church forever a sacred and invio- 
lable rule. The honour of religion and the safety of souls 
call for it. The first and grand defect, in Church order, seems 
to me to be the abuse, or the total want of a regular recogni- 
tion of the baptismal vow, by those that have been baptized in 
their infancy, as they grow up. If this were strictly attended, 
so would the exercise of a severe watch, in all likelihood con- 
tinue, and the administration of just censures would follow 
upon occasion. But a false step being made here runs us into 
great confusion and disorder. Your external profession of 
the Christian faith is very imperfect, without a publick serious 
declaration of it, in the face of the congregation, at the de- 
mand of your pastors, when you come to years of discretion. 
It is not enough that you have been baptized, and had a 
Christian education, and have given your attendance upon the 
publick worship of Christ, from your infancy ; but you, are to 
say, that you stand to your baptism, and take that vow upon 
vou, and confirm and ratify all that was done by your parents, 
in the solemn devoting you to God, from the womb. This is 
the most explicit act of confessing Christ, that is done by a 
Christian ordinarily in his whole life. And while we neglect 



147 



it, we give the adversary of infant baptism a great advantage 
to glory against us. For as an excellent person says, in this 
case,' (here quoting Ostervald,) i the baptismal engagement 
is a personal thing, in which every body should act for him- 
self. When children are baptized, they know nothing of what 
is done to them. It is therefore absolutely necessary, that, 
when they come to years of reason, they should become mem- 
bers of the Church, out of knowledge and choice. This is no 
novelty, innovation, or unnecessary solemnity, as some call 
every thing which does not agree with the custom of their 
country or Church : but it is an imitation of the ancient and 
apostolick order, and an establishment altogether suited to the 
nature of the Christian religion/ 

So fully and so candidly do these eminent dissenters avow 
their conviction of the inspired origin and necessity of the rite 
in question : so earnestly do they recommend its revived ob- 
servance, or continued practice. It should cause all separatists 
to pause in their unauthorized career. It should dispose them 
to prefer the old paths to the new, that they may cease to 
trample upon a divine institution, and gladly avail themselves 
of the additional mean of grace, we have the happiness to 
enjoy. In what manner, you may discover by a reference to 
the book of common prayer, in which the ceremony commences 
with an exposition of the following import ; 6 To the end that 
confirmation may be ministered to the more edifying of such 
as shall receive it, the Church hath thought good to^rder, 
that none shall be confirmed, but such as can say the creed, 
the Lord's prayer, and the ten commandments ; and can also 
answer to such other questions, as in the short catechism are 
contained : Which order is very convenient to be observed ; 
to the end that children, being now come to years of discre- 
tion, and having learned what their godfathers and godmoth- 
ers promised for them in baptism, may themselves, with therr 
own mouth and consent, openly before the Church ratify and 
confirm the same ; and also promise, that, by the grace of 
God, they will evermore endeavour themselves faithfully to 



148 



observe such things as they, by their own confession, have 
assented unto.' 

Confirmation, in her judgment, is, therefore, properly admin- 
istered to all baptized persons, who have attained an adequate 
knowledge of the elementary principles of their religion, and 
are so fully convinced of the necessity of making them the 
practical rule of their lives and conversation, as publickly to 
re-enact those baptismal vows, wherein they had before, either 
by themselves or by their sureties, 1 renounced the devil and 
all his works, the vain pomp and glory of the world, with all 
covetous desires of the same, and the sinful desires of the flesh;' 
wherein they had declared their assent to 6 all the articles of 
the Christian faith, as contained in the Apostles' creed and 
solemnly covenanted, by the divine assistance, to 6 keep God's 
holy will and commandments, and walk in the same all the 
days of their life/ 

The language of the exposition is indeed more immediately 
applicable to such as were baptized in infancy. But this ha3 
probably resulted from the desire of excluding candidates, 
until they have arrived at a suitable age, and does by no means 
militate with the confirming of persons, who from prejudice 
or gross misapprehension were suffered to remain destitute of 
this supplementary sign and seal of an inward and spiritual 
grace, during the period of their minority. For the bishop 
invariably inquires, 8 Do ye here, in the presence of God, and 
of this congregation, renew T the solemn promise and vow that 
ye made, or that was made in your name, at your baptism ; 
ratifying and confirming the same ; and acknowledging your- 
selves bound to believe and to do all those things which ye 
then undertook, or your sponsors then undertook for you ?' 
So that there is no exception. In the opinion of the Church, 
all persons that have been baptized should be confirmed. 

Before however the ceremony can be rightly entertained, 
the recipients must possess the requisite qualifications, and 
these are, * repentance whereby they forsake sin ; and faith 
whereby they steadfastly believe in the promises of God/ Of 



14y 



all which they are seriously reminded in the exposition and 
question already rehearsed, when upon an affirmative answer 
the act of confirmation succeeds ; the bishop craves the bless- 
ing of Almighty God, with the gracious influences of the Holy 
Ghost ; and, while each candidate is prostrate upon his knees, 
imposes hands upon his head, and pronounces the affecting 
benediction ; 6 Defend, O Lord, this thy child (or, this thy 
servant) w T ith thy heavenly grace ; that he may continue thine 
forever, and daily increase in thy Holy Spirit more and more, 
until he come unto thy everlasting kingdom.' After which, 
other prayers ensue, whose general purport it is to implore 
such continued vouchsafements of divine aid and favour, as 
may enable the confirmed to lead the residue of their lives 
according to the profession then made ; a profession that be- 
speaks their anxiety to be found in the paths of obedience, 
and that is also preparatory to their admission to the supper 
of the Lord. 

Not however, that every individual, who makes it, necessa- 
rily becomes a communicant ; because there are many, who 
still consider themselves unprepared for that holy mystery, and 
there are others, whose after conduct so wretchedly belies 
their most solemn protestations, as to render this blessed con- 
summation of their Christian calling altogether inexpedient 
and improper. Neither on the other hand is it absolutely re- 
quired previous to the reception of the sacrament. For if you 
examine the rubrick at the termination of the service, it is 
there provided, that 6 none be admitted to the holy commun- 
ion, until such time as he be confirmed, or be ready and 
desirous to be confirmed.' The latter clause being added on 
account of the infrequency, and sometimes the entire absence 
of episcopal visitations, when all godly and piously disposed 
persons, who intend to avail themselves of the introductory 
rite, at the earliest opportunity, are readily received, and al- 
lowed to partake of the symbolized body and blood of Christ. 

The invitation given by us to feed upon these sacred mys- 
teries is indeed most free and comprehensive. It is like that 



150 



recorded in the scriptures, 4 Come, for all things are now 
ready.' All hearers are exhorted to consider 6 the great peril 
of the unworthy receiving thereof; and so to search and ex- 
amine' their 6 consciences that' they 6 may come holy and clean 
to such an heavenly feast in the marriage garment required by 
God in holy scripture.' They are publickly addressed in these 
solemn words, 6 Ye who do truly and earnestly repent you of 
your sins, and are in love and charity with your neighbours, and 
intend to lead a new life, following the commandments of 
God, and walking from henceforth in his holy ways ; draw 
near with faith, and take this holy sacrament to your comfort' 
They are also encouraged, in case of self-condemning appre- 
hensions, to open their grief to the minister of God's w r ord, 
that they s may receive such godly counsel and advice, as may 
tend to the quieting of their ' conscience, and the removing 
of all scruple and doubtfulness.- 5 

But then, after these invitations, warnings, and encourage- 
ments, we leave them to determine their duty between them- 
selves and their God. We erect no tribunal, from among 
their brethren of the laity, for the purpose of severely scruti- 
nizing their hearts, of sitting in judgment upon the secret 
operations of God's Holy Spirit, and deciding the extent of 
his progress in each individual, through the medium of ques- 
tions and answers, and by the passage of a final vote of admis- 
sion or rejection. We think, that a jurisdiction, of this inquis- 
itorial character, is contrary to the example of the Apostles, 
who never appear to have consulted their previous converts, 
as to the propriety of receiving any individuals into the Chris- 
tian Church. We think it directly opposed to the inspired 
command, 6 Judge not, that ye be not judged ;' and are content 
to refer these things to those, whose office it is to administer 
the sacraments of the gospel, constantly inviting the penitent 
and faithful to their reception, and only repulsing such as are 
1 open and notorious evil livers. 5 

Yes, brethren, these are the principles, and this is the prac- 
tice of the Church. We require the professions made at the 



151 



baptismal font, prior to admission at the holy communion, and 
with the explanation I have given, the subsequent rite of con- 
firmation. But these preparatory steps are burdened by no 
judicial process and investigation on the part of laicks. Against 
all such interference we solemnly protest, and are happy in 
the belief, that our views are substantially maintained, by some 
of the great pillars of the dissenting Churches. 

I shall here present you with the sentiments of a no less 
distinguished divine of the presbyterian sect, than dr Mason, 
formerly of New- York. 6 God hath reserved to himself the 
prerogative of exploring secret motives, I Jehovah search the 
heart, and try the reins. And it is a source of ineffable con- 
solation, that none but himself can try them. The obstruction 
of the creature is completely barred out by his own unchange- 
able constitution. I bless him for it. I had rather perish 
than have my heart searched by men or angels ; and I put 
them all at defiance to declare what passes in my breast any 
further than I myself inform them by my own act. Whoever 
therefore maintains that the reality of conversion is the reason 
of admission to Christian privileges lays down a rule that can 
never be applied. There are none who furnish more conclu- 
sive evidence of its nullity, than those who most warmly eon- 
tend for it. A single observation will put this in a strong 
light. They who without the aid of revelation, either from 
myself or my Creator, can read my hidden thoughts on one 
occasion, can read them on any other. Therefore if they can 
ascertain sincerity in religion, they can equally ascertain it in 
their civil transactions ; and consequently would never be 
imposed upon. But to such lengths, they do not pretend to 
go : that is, they proclaim the falsity of their own doctrine 
and the futility of their own rule. How dare they, who cannot 
detect a perjury in the custom house, or a lie in the shop, 
represent themselves as able to detect hypocrisy in religious 
professions ? It is foolish conceit, it is contemptible quackery. 
— Take notice how they use their own rule. They get a man 
to recount his experience. If satisfied with that, they set him 



152 



down as converted. You see. that for the facts on which they 
build their judgment, they have all his own word ; and yet 
they talk of ascertaining his state ! Two plain questions on 
this head, and we shall leave them. — If their man should say 
nothing at all. how would they find out his state ? — If he should 
happen to amuse them with a tale of experience, such as they 
approved and he never felt, where is their knowledge of his 
state ? — As for those who undertake to discern spirits, without 
producing their authority from the Father of spirits, under his 
broad seal of miracles, nothing is so amazing about them as 
their effrontery. All sober men should eschew them as jug- 
criers and impostors. An astrologer who casts nativities from 
the aspects of the planets : or a strolling gipsy who predicts 
the history of life from the palm of a child's hand, is as wor- 
thy of credence as they.' 

After this leng extract, sound in principle and powerful in 
expression, there is no necessity of my appending a single 
observation in support of the practice prevailing in our prim- 
itive Church. Its mode of admission to the table of the Lord 
is in perfect unison with the scriptures, and is alike admira- 
bly adapted to check the presumption of the fanatick. and to 
repress the operations of a self-righteous and censorious spirit. 

In drawing to a conclusion, brethren, allow me to remark 
to vou. that throughout the confirmation service, there is evi- 
dentlv displayed the same devotional fervour and unaffected 
humility, which pervade every part of our beautiful liturgy, 
and that almost force upon the worshipper corresponding sen- 
timents of piety and self-abasement. There is also a manifest 
propriety in renewing our baptismal engagements, especially 
if entered into during the unconscious hours of infancy, which 
strongly recommends the universal reception of the rite itself, 
as eminently calculated to impress the young, with a lasting 
sense of the importance of religion, and of the imperious ob- 
ligation of submitting in spirit and in truth to all the ordinan- 
ces of our blessed Lord and Master, whether originating in 
his own, or in the ministry of his chosen Apostles. 



153 



I have indeed sometimes thought of confirmation, that it 
might have been anticipated in those memorable words of 
Christ ; ' Except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he 
cannot enter into the kingdom of God.' Certain it is, that 
those confirmed, by Peter, and John, and Paul, are represented 
to have been first baptized or born of water, and afterwards 
to have received or to have been born of the Holy Ghost, at 
the laying on of the Apostles' hands. Certain it is, that Paul 
hath made an obvious distinction between \ the washing of 
regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost ;' and it is far 
from impossible, but that confirmation may be implied in the 
latter phrase, as well as water baptism in the former ; it is far 
from impossible, but that the unconsciously baptized infant 
may be only born of water, while it is reserved for the con- 
firmed adult, worthily embracing the ordinance, to be born of 
the Spirit. Of the Ephesians converted in mature years, it 
is written in relation to their spiritual union with Christ ; ' In 
whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, 
the gospel of your salvation : in whom also, after that ye 
believed,' and belief we know was immediately followed by 
baptism, 4 ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.' 
Wherein the word i sealed,' in the opinion of the ancient fa- 
thers, conveyed alike the idea of the outward sign of laying 
hands upon the head, and of the inward grace impressed upon 
the heart. 

In favour of the present suggestion, there is besides the 
declaration of Peter ; 4 Repent, and be baptized every one of 
you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and 
ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost/ There is this 
affirmation of John the baptist ; 6 I indeed baptize you with 
water unto repentance : but he that cometh after me is might- 
ier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear : he shall 
baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.' There is 
the well known fact, that the Apostles, who had partaken of 
this baptism, were directed by the risen Saviour, 6 that they 
should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of 

13 



154 



the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard from me. 5 And 
then succeeds the explanation ; 6 For John truly baptized with 
water ; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, not 
many days hence evidently referring to the miraculous effu- 
sion of the Spirit upon them, on the day of pentecost. There 
is finally, the extraordinary spectacle exhibited at the baptism 
of our Lord ; 6 Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straight- 
way out of the water ; and, lo, the heavens were opened unto 
him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and 
lighting upon him.' 

In hazarding the preceding opinion, as having occasionally 
crossed my mind, I am therefore far from being unsustained 
by the language of scripture. It is indeed the most probable 
judgment, that can be formed of the passages recited. The 
longer we reflect upon them, the deeper will the conviction 
be impressed upon our understandings, and the greater our 
confidence, that doctrines are often boldly maintained upon 
much more equivocal premises. But whether correct, or in- 
correct, I know to a certainty, that confirmation, or the laying 
on of hands upon private Christians, is distinctly set forth in 
three several passages of holy writ, and that it was fully ac- 
ceded to and practised by the spiritual fathers of the primitive 
Church. I know, that wherever it is enjoyed, it obviates much 
of the clamour against infant baptism, arising from the absence 
of the supposed prerequisites ; inasmuch as infants, when 
amved at maturity, can, at the time of its reception, take upon 
themselves those promises of faith, repentance, and obedience, 
which were made in their name by the believing sponsors, 
who brought them to Christ. I know, that it is in itself an 
ordinance most appropriate, impressive, and solemn, and that 
whoever partakes of it, with a glad heart, a willing and under- 
standing mind, is thereby ' sealed by the Holy Spirit of God 
unto the day of redemption.' 

More than this I need not urge. It is sufficient to justify 
our Church, for her continued observance, in common with 
an immense majority of believers, of a pious, venerable, and 



155 



apostolick institution. The question indeed very naturally 
occurs, whether by this course she does not afford a stricter 
example of obedience to the oracles of God, than those vari- 
ous orders of sectarians, who have combined to lay it aside, 
as a thing of nought ? The question very naturally occurs, 
and the answer cannot be mistaken ; although it is perhaps 
better to waive a more explicit reply, lest in asserting the 
greater purity of our revered Zion, I should be thought to 
criminate the motives, as well as the practice of our fellow 
Christians ; when He, who searcheth the heart and trieth the 
reins, well knows, that had I the mantle of Elijah, I would 
gladly convert it into a robe of charity, and extend its shadow 
to the four corners of the earth ; there being much to esteem, 
and much to love among our brethren of other folds. 

And yet, so long as it is apparent in the nature of things, 
that the most High God must be more pleased with sincerity 
in the way of truth, than with sincerity in that of errour ; so 
long it is our duty to hold fast to the altar, the worship, the 
ministry of our protestant episcopal Church ; and so long 
should it be our pleasure to conform ourselves, with reverent 
submission, to all the pious usages and institutions, which 
have been perpetuated within her sanctuary from the very 
period, when they were first established, by the inspired wis- 
dom and authority of the holy Apostles. 

It is in this manner, that we shall outwardly exhibit to the 
world our attachment to the injunctions of our divine Lord 
and Master. It is in this manner, that the unconfirmed, if they 
possess a true and lively faith in the efficacy of his redemption, 
will embrace the earliest opportunity of repairing to his au- 
thorized ambassadors, and, like the converts of Samaria, and 
the disciples of Ephesus, reap the spiritual benefits attending 
the imposition of their hands, even those blessed gifts of the 
Spirit, which were once known to have accompanied the cer- 
emony, as it is written, 6 Then laid they their hands on them, 
and they received the Holy Ghost.' Amen. 



156 



SERMON X. 

isaiah Ixii. 1. 

For Ziorfs sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's 
sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth 
as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that 
burnetii. 

If there are any persons upon the face of the globe, calling 
themselves Christians, who profess to discard the assembling 
of themselves together, for the avowed object of worshipping 
the Lord God, of their fathers, if there are any such persons I 
am ignorant of their existence. I know not the sect to which 
they belong. Their numbers must be too insignificant to re- 
quire a passing notice from the most zealous defenders of our 
formularies of publick worship. 

Infidels are in this respect the only opposers, the sole deri- 
ders of a species of devotion commended to every man's con- 
science by the authentick words of scripture, and to the 
propriety of whose observance, both Jews and Christians have 
from the earliest times united in bearing their decided testi- 
mony. Here, with the true followers of the Lamb, there is 
no diversity of sentiment. All concur in advocating the pub- 
lick worship of God. All esteem it one of the most essential 
features of a religious life. All, who recognise the holy sab-, 
bath as a divine institution, devote some portion of its sacred 
hours, openly and avowedly, to the reasonable service of their 
Great Creator and Almighty Friend. 

They differ indeed, as to the mode of conducting the cere- 
mony. Unhappily for the peace and prosperity of Zion, they 
agree not as to the posture of the body during its performance, 
whether it should be bowed down or erect ; nor as to the spir« 



157 



itual part, whether it should be with precomposed or with ex- 
temporary prayers. It is even too true to be seriously denied, 
that there is scarcely an epithet of derision or of reproach, 
which has not been liberally applied to all those publick forms 
and ceremonies, which have for ages prevailed in the Church, 
as peculiarly appropriate in the expression of human homage 
and human dependence. I will not repeat one from the long 
and disgraceful catalogue. They must be familiar to your 
recollection, and have doubtless proved among the most suc- 
cessful weapons, which have been brandished against us, by 
the art and subtlety of man's device. I prefer a more calm 
and dispassionate investigation, than would be likely to result 
from the refutation of coarse invective, and, must I say it, of 
the grossest ribaldry. I prefer, with the scriptures in my 
hand, with reason in my mouth, and the temper becoming the 
minister of the lowly Jesus in my heart ; I prefer with these, 
to defend and vindicate all the usages of our much injured 
Church, in her house of prayer and praise. 

To begin with the subject of least comparative importance; 
I fear that many zealous religionists have not hesitated to con- 
demn every organized mode of bodily worship, or at best, that 
they have so simplified and cramped exteriour reverence, that 
the bare powers of vision would often fail to instruct us, as to 
the precise nature of their assemblies, whether they were col' 
lected together, as listeners or as worshippers. But that any 
thing, wearing the semblance of indifference, should take place 
in outward devotion, reason itself combines with the voice of 
scripture, and proclaims its impropriety upon the clearest and 
most satisfactory grounds. 

We are certainly, as much indebted to the goodness of God 
for the formation of the body, as for that of the soul, and they 
are equally and inseparably connected, in the obligations re- 
sulting from the continued preservation of life and happiness. 
Ought there not then to be a united expression of gratitude 
and adoration : an expression as visible to the eye, as audible 
to the ear ? Shall the body receive good at the hand of the 

13* 



158 



Lord, shall it be fed, and clothed, and sustained in sickness and 
in health, and still refer the solemn act of returning homage 
to the soul alone ? Forbid it nature, whose sympathies, per- 
vading untaught the bosom of her meanest children, invariably 
produce some external mark and gesture of humility towards 
the object of their prevailing hopes and fears. Forbid it civil- 
ized society,whose constant solicitude it is, to render significant 
tokens of honour, in the presence of those, whom either the 
endowments of the mind, or the virtues of the heart ; whom 
even the fortune of arms, the glitter of wealth, or the pomp 
and circumstance of office have enabled to reach an elevated 
rank, in the scale of being. And shall we not, with these 
things perpetually occurring before our eyes, freely admit, 
that the Creator of the universe, in whom the body lives, and 
moves, and has its being, possesses some substantial claims 
upon its pious reverence ? Shall we not cheerfully concede, 
that it is very meet, and right, and our bounden duty, in our 
intercourse with his sacred courts, to adopt such corporeal 
postures, as will clearly evince our solemn belief of his own 
inspired annunciation, 6 here will I dwell V 

Surely, brethren, it is a conduct so natural and becoming, 
so strikingly expedient and praiseworthy, that I am lost in 
astonishment, whenever I reflect that the external religious 
ceremonies of our Church were among the motes and eyesores 
most bitterly inveighed against, in the days of puritanical 
schism and intolerance. We are too frail in our natures, too 
wayward in our fancies, to rely entirely upon the good desires 
and dispositions of the soul, and consequently publick worship, 
to be celebrated in the beauty of holiness, requires all the 
e-xtrinsick aid, within the compass of our ability to employ. 

Accordingly we find, that all the holy men of God, whose 
praise is in the scriptures, ever resorted to some devotional 
attitudes or other, as useful auxiliaries to the spirit, in offering 
up the sacrifices of prayer and praise. The spreading forth of 
the hands unto the Lord in the heavens, was observed by 
Moses, after one of his interviews with the prevaricating Pha- 



159 



raoh ; by David, when his soul was famished in a dry and 
thirsty land ; and by the wisest of men, when in the presence 
of all the congregation of Tsrael, he dedicated the temple, 
which was filled with the excellent glory. The prostration of 
the body, or falling upon the face, was also practised by the 
Jewish lawgiver, when for the space 4 of forty days and forty 
nights,' he 4 did neither eat bread nor drink water, because of 
the sins' of the people, and by the holy Job, when informed 
of the loss of his substance, and the untimely death of his 
children. For he 4 arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his 
head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, and 
said,' 4 the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ; blessed 
be the name of the Lord.' 

Nor in this enumeration, let me fail to remind you, that 
genuflection or the bending of the knee, a position so humbly 
adopted by the Church, is amply supported in sacred writ, by 
the authority of the psalmist, who exhorting all the people to 
the worship of God exclaimed, 4 O come, let us worship and 
bow dowK ; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker :' By the 
authority of Daniel, who regularly 4 kneeled upon his knees, 
three times a day, and prayed :' By the authority of the proto- 
martyr Stephen ; for, commending his spirit to the Lord Jesus, 
and imploring the pardon of his murderers, 4 he kneeled down, 
and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their 
charge :' By the authority of Peter and Paul, who severally 
4 kneeled down and prayed ;' the one, when reanimating the 
corpse of the much lamented Tabitha, and the other, when 
bidding a last affectionate adieu to those weeping elders of 
Ephesus, who were to 4 see his face no more :' By the author- 
ity of the blessed Saviour of sinners himself, who, in the gar- 
den of Gethsemane, when his soul was 4 exceeding sorrow T ful, 
even unto death,' according to St Luke, 4 kneeled down, and 
prayed, saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup 
from me : nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done.' 

Thus then, the holy scriptures present us with the most 
unexceptionable testimony in favour of external worship, witb- 

f 



160 



out recurring to the rites and ceremonies enjoined upon the 
Jewish Church. All the holy men that I have instanced, to- 
gether with their Master, in the most interesting situations 
that can be imagined, neglected not to precede their addresses 
to the throne of grace, with a corresponding corporeal act of 
devotion. If their wants were ever so urgent, if their danger 
ever so imminent, still before presuming to implore the inter- 
ference of heaven, they spread abroad the hands ; they fell 
upon the face ; they kneeled. 

Let it not therefore be thought beneath the dignity of 
Christians to follow their example. Let it not be doubted, 
but that such expressive demonstrations have a powerful in- 
fluence in promoting intense and fervent supplication and 
prayer. If the structure of our edifices be such, as to make 
it inconvenient to fall upon the face, we can yet fall upon out 
knees, when we are, or ought to be, confessing our sins; when 
we are interceding for their pardon, and invoking all those 
mercies and blessings, which we are imboldened to seek for, 
in the name, and through the merits and mediation of our 
Saviour Christ. A sitting posture is certainly less becoming 
and reverent. I know indeed, that David is once represented 
to have 6 sat before the Lord,' and prayed, and that Nehemiah 
6 sat down, and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, 
and prayed before the God of heaven,' But before these ex- 
amples can be fairly cited as justifying precedents in our day, 
we should at least be sure, that they have been maturely 
weighed and conscientiously adopted. For otherwise, and 
unless some infirmity of the body supervenes, sedentary prayer 
can scarcely prove acceptable to God, scarcely prove a sacri- 
fice, in which he shall be well pleased, and ready and willing 
to answer from heaven his dwelling place. 

Similar remarks apply to the erect posture, extremely ap- 
propriate in praise, where the spirit of a man should be elevat- 
ed, ardent, and sublime. It was the sole devotional employ- 
ment of Adam in the days of his innocence, and was doubtless 
uttered in a manner, which evinced that there was no fear in 



161 



love. Wherefore in magnifying the Lord Most High, for the 
inestimable gift of the second iVdam, we may, with singular 
propriety, lift up our bodies with those emotions of perfect 
love, which cast out fear, and pronounce the praises of re- 
deeming love, in an attitude suited to the rapture and rejoic- 
ing of our souls. But in prayer, there is something in the 
bended knee more characteristick of those feelings of rever- 
ence and humility, of dependence and submission, of sorrow 
and contrition for sin, which ought fully to pervade the heart, 
in our applications for divine mercy and protection. 

The scriptures are certainly greatly in its favour, and it may 
not be too much to assert, that no one single instance can be 
produced, where an erect position was maintained throughout 
publick prayer. The case of 'the publican standing afar off,' 
and who 6 smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to 
me a sinner,' is not in point, the act being private, and the 
prayer itself ejaculatory. The case of Phinehas, and that of 
the seed of Israel,' mentioned in the ninth chapter of Nehe- 
miah, with a few others, are all susceptible of a construction 
comporting with our views, and fully sustained by the author- 
ity of the inspired volume. For if we examine the account 
given of the consecration of the temple in the first book of 
Kings, it is indeed said, that ' Solomon stood before the altar 
of the Lord,' and 6 all the congregation of Israel stood ;' but 
then, this was only while he was pronouncing a blessing upon 
them, it being afterwards added, 6 that when Solomon had 
made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto 
the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from 
kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven. 
And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with 
a loud voice.' 

There is besides, in the second book of Chronicles, a rela- 
tion of the same transaction recorded in this manner ; i And 
he stood before the altar of the Lord, in the presence of all 
the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands, (for 
Solomon had made a brazen scaffold, of five cubits long, and 



162 



five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the 
midst of the court ; and upon it he stood, and kneeled down 
upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and 
spread forth his hands toward heaven :V So that this parallel 
passage clearly indicates, that the standing up, spoken of in 
Kings, was merely preserved while blessing the people ; that 
it was either preparatory or subsequent to the more humble 
act of bowing down. It also clearly indicates, that we may 
give a similar interpretation to the expression in Nehemiah, 
* the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, 
and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their 
fathers :' particularly when it is said in the preceding chapter, 
6 Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God : and all the people 
answered, amen, amen, with lifting up their hands ; and they 
bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces 
to the ground.' 

Recollect moreover, brethren, the strong and emphatick 
declaration of God himself ; ' as I live, saith the Lord, every 
knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.' 
Recollect, that St Paul uses this very expression, as synony- 
mous with the lifting up of his voice in prayer ; 6 for this cause 
I bow dow t n my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is nam- 
ed, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his 
glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner 
man.' Recollect, that when the disciples of Tyre, with their 
wives and children, accompanied Paul and his companions 
out of the city, they all 6 kneeled down, and prayed.' Recol- 
lect above all, that our blessed Saviour says ; 6 when thoa 
prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are : for they love 
to pray standing in the synagogues, and in the corners of the 
streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, 
they have their reward.' 

These surely are passages of some moment ; and such, as 
will not follow, nor be led by them, might at least pursue 
another course, without affecting to look down with contempt 



163 

upon our more scriptural practice, our alternate rising up to 
praise the Lord, and bowing down to supplicate the blessings 
of his providence and grace. They accuse us of formality, 
of an exceeding fondness for ceremony and show. I will not 
retort the charges. They are unworthy of those, that wear 
the livery of Christ. I will not even pretend, that an upright 
posture is incompatible with 6 the effectual fervent prayer of 
a righteous man.' I rather believe the reverse, and that this 
deviation from holy examples is by no means a fatal errour. 
But at the same time, that it is generally, if not utterly, at va- 
riance with the scriptures has been sufficiently proved. After 
diligent examination, according to my understanding, with 
the exception of the hypocrites referred to and rebuked by our 
Saviour, I have not been able to discover a solitary undisputed 
example of standing up, during the celebration of publick 
prayer. Kneeling, on the contrary, is every where to be 
met with. In allusion to this, Isaiah says, 6 strengthen ye the 
weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees :' The psalmist, 

* my knees are weak through fasting :' The Apostle Paul, 

* wherefore, lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble 
knees ;' The Lord Jehovah, in Ezekiel, 6 all hands shall be 
feeble, and all knees weak.' 

How much cause have we therefore, brethren, to adhere 
strictly to this good old custom, originally established by the 
will of God, and piously retained in the Christian Church, 
from the period of its foundation by Christ and his Apostles ; 
a custom most likely to prevent the wandering of the sight, 
I and to suppress the roving of the thoughts. For when the 
whole person is exposed, and each individual assumes an at- 
titude comporting with his own feelings : Is there not danger^ 
lest the attention should be attracted to outward objects, to 
the entrance of such as either designedly or unavoidably delay 
their attendance, to the various circumstances of dress and 
parade, of concern and unconcern, of propriety and impropri- 
ety, which serve to distinguish the appearance and deportment 
of others ? Alas ! I fear we must all of us be free to acknowl- 



164 

edge, that such danger is not so idle and visionary, as to re- 
quire no antidote. We must all of us feel, that indecorum 
is not so seldom existing in our worshipping assemblies, as 
even to neutralize the necessity of guarding against it, as 
efficiently as possible. 

Why then should not Christians universally adopt the pre- 
ventive counsels and practice of our holy Church ? Especially 
since there is obviously more of humility than of pride in the 
pliant, bended knee ; more of composure and self-possession 
in the hidden and retired, than in the devious, rambling eye. 
God only knows. We must not judge, lest we be judged. We 
must leave every man to be fully persuaded in his own mind, 
and confine ourselves to the prayer, that whatever this persua- 
sion be, it may contribute to accomplish the hearty desire of 
Paul, where he says ; 6 1 beseech you, therefore, brethren, by 
the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sac- 
rifice, holyy acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable 
service.' 

There are however some other ceremonies observed in our 
publick worship, which have for ages incurred the censure of 
our fellow Christians. My limits will compel me to notice 
them but briefly, although I trust, that the explanation and 
defence will be as satisfactory as brief. In repeating the 
Apostles' creed, it is objected, that we are accustomed to bow, 
at the moment we express our belief in Jesus Christ our Lord, 
For what good reason, I have never been able to divine. His 
Father says, ' let all the angels of God worship him ;' and 
again, 6 unto the Son, he saith, thy throne, O God, is for ever 
and ever.' He was worshipped, by the Apostle Thomas, in 
the unqualified terms, 6 my Lord and my God.' The great 
body of Christians do not hesitate to pay to him divine hon- 
ours, and why this small tribute of our love and reverence 
should be denounced is most extraordinary. I can attribute 
it to nothing but an unreasonable prejudice, or to a captious 
dislike of every thing practised in the Roman Church. For 
me, it is enough, that the Apostle hath said ; 6 at the name of 



165 



Jesus every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and things 
in earth, and things under the earth ; and that every tongue 
should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God 
the Father.' Bowing and confessing would therefore seem to 
be most appropriately blended together, in this part of our 
service, and long may we in this manner manifest our submis- 
sion to an authority, that no man can justly condemn. 

Another objection is urged against our kneeling, when we 
receive the elements of bread and wine, in the sacrament of 
the Lord's supper. But the answer is similar and equally 
pertinent. Those elements are administered and received 
with the use of these solemn words, slightly and from neces- 
sity altered from the original ; ' the body of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, which was given for thee ;' and 4 the blood of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, which was shed for thee.' Who then shall re- 
fuse to bow at that blessed name ? Who, that is 6 not worthy 
so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy table,' most 
merciful Lord, shall venture to brand our lowly posture with the 
semblance of idolatry ? Let us pity, brethren, the weakness 
of such persons. Let us forgive the uncharitableness of their 
imputation. But never, no never let us follow their example, 
by feeding upon those holy mysteries, sitting at our ease, and 
scorning the more humble and reverent attitude. A very ac- 
curate writer has remarked, ' that the posture of sitting was 
first brought into the Church by the Arians ; who stubbornly 
denying the divinity of our Saviour, thought it no robbery to 
be equal with him, and to sit down w*th him at his table.' 
From the same author, I also learn tha-' 6 the pope ' 4 always 
receives this sacrament sitting.' So tfat in one particular, if 
no more, our seceding protestant brethren must refrain from 
the cry of superstition and popery ; they, who prefer to copy 
after the solitary example of his holiness, 6 rather than not 
differ from the best and purest Church in the world.' 

The use of the organ is another serious and insurmountable 
objection to the publick worship of the Church. David, the 
man after God's own heart, in the temple service, could listen 

14 



166 



to the ten-stringed instruments and other harps of solemn 
sound ; and could compose hymns to be accompanied by their 
melody. The Almighty himself could then endure instrumen- 
tal as well as vocal musick. He could tolerate the lyre, the 
sackbut, and the psaltery ; the timbrel, the trumpet, and the 
organ, in his house of prayer. But many of our modern Chris- 
tian brethren, are fain to think that a change has ensued in 
him, 6 with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of 
turning,' and that what was once pleasing and acceptable has 
ceased to be gratifying to the divine ear. 

Not that they can produce the slightest evidence in favour 
of their opinion ; not that our Saviour drove away the musi- 
cians, with the moneychangers from the temple at Jerusalem ; 
not that there is one word from him, from the Apostles, or 
primitive Christians authorizing them to proclaim war against 
instruments of musick in our Churches. No, no such thing : 
They can discover no such valid pleas against them. It is 
simply because the Catholicks continue their use, that they 
persist in banishing their melody from the house of God. In 
vain did this gracious Being admit them in his solemn wor- 
ship. In vain are they told by St John, in the Apocalypse ; 
6 I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, 
and as the voice of a great thunder ; and I heard the voice of 
harpers harping vrith their harps.' Not the divine appointment, 
not the practice of high heaven itself can control the prejudices 
of some of our dissenting brethren. They will neither with 
the organ praise the Lord themselves, nor can they find it in 
their hearts to think or to speak charitably of those who do. 
We must suffer them to act their own pleasure. For our- 
selves, we cannot but kr.ow, that the organ has a most valua- 
ble and solemn effect, whenever we are here 6 speaking to 
ourselves in psalms, and iiymns, and spiritual songs, singing 
and making melody in our hearts to the Lord.' 

The only remaining objection, to which I shall direct your 
attention, arises from the wearing of distinguishing garments 
by the clergy of the Church, duting the celebration of divine 



167 



service. And surely nothing but a most inveterate habit of 
discerning motes and beams, in the eyes of others, could have 
furnished our opposers with the shadow of a reason, against a 
practice so becoming in itself, and so fully sanctioned by the 
volume of inspiration. They cannot have forgotten what mi- 
nute directions were given to Moses, in relation to the vest- 
ments to be worn by the Jewish priests ; ' And thou shalt make 
holy garments for Aaron thy brother, for glory and for beauty. 
And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise-hearted, whom I 
have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make 
Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister 
unto me in the priest's office. And these are the garments 
which they shall make ; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a 
robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle.' The suc- 
ceeding details are too voluminous to repeat ; but the dresses 
for the high priest, priests, and Levites are all described with 
the utmost minuteness, and evince beyond all doubt, that the 
Almighty is very far from disapproving the modest and appro- 
priate attire, in which the ministers of his Church are at pres- 
ent clothed. 

The surplice in particular cannot be offensive to Him, who 
is represented by Daniel, as habited in a 6 garment white as 
snow ;' nor to our Saviour, whose 6 raiment,' at the transfigu- 
ration, 6 was white as the light.' In the revelation, it is also 
apparent, that the Church herself is to be hereafter adorned 
with the same apparel ; 6 let us be glad and rejoice, and give 
honour to him : for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his 
wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that 
she should be arrayed in fine white linen, clean and white : 
for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.' 

To be perpetually upbraiding her ministers, for putting on 
the like simple and beautiful garments, betrays therefore but 
little respect for the wisdom of the heavenly bridegroom. It 
is reviling what God hath honoured, and his beloved Son ap- 
proved. Addressing the angel of one of the seven Churches 
of Asia, he says, < Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which 



168 



have not defiled their garments : and they shall walk with me 
in white : for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same 
shall be clothed in white raiment ; and I will not blot out his 
name out of the book of life, but I will confess him before 
my Father, and before his angels. 5 And with such authority, 
such ample promises of reward to the faithful, the ministers of 
Christ need not care to bear the obloquy of men. The divine 
countenance is all sufficient to extract the sting, and blunt the 
eo%e of their foulest calumnies. 

4 What offence,' said Jerome, * what offence can it be to God 
for a bishop or priest^ &c. to proceed to the communion in a 
white garment V An interrogatory, that clearly shows the 
custom of the primitive Church, and that should cause a blush 
to mantle the cheeks of those, who, in declaiming against the 
external worship, the rites, ceremonies, and habiliments of 
our Zion, appear to he entirely ignorant of the fact, that they 
are alike opposing the institutions of God, the will of Christ, 
the judgment of his Apostles, and the faith and practice of 
the primitive Church. 

I would not indeed set too high a value on the outward 
appearance, knowing that the Lord looketh on the heart, and 
thence determines the true character of every man's work,, 
whether it be good or whether it be evil. But if the subjects 
discussed, and the usages defended in this discourse are alto- 
gether useless and unimportant ; if corporeal worship and the 
mode of its performance cannot possibly become an acceptable 
sacrifice in the sight of heaven ; Why was it, in one of the 
conflicts attending the journey through the wilderness ; why 
was it, 6 when Moses,' in a supplicating posture, ' held up his 
hand, that Israel prevailed ; and when he let down his hand 
Amalek prevailed V Why was it, when his imploring ' hands 
were heavy,' that Aaron and Hur 4 took a stone, and put it 
under him, and he sat thereon ; and Aaron and Hur stayed up 
his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other 
side ; and his hands were steady until the going down of the 
sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with 
the edge of the sword V 



169 



These, brethren, are the words of scripture, they were written 
for our instruction, and if I am capable of comprehending 
their import, they do most indubitably prove, that the Almighty 
is to be obeyed in all things, however trivial and insignificant 
they may appear in the eyes of erring man ; that he even sus- 
pends his blessings upon the external features of that obedi- 
ence ; and in the present instance only bestowed them, where 
bestowment was sought after, in the way of his appointment. 
Permit me also to remark, that the whole transaction is far 
more open to the shafts of raillery, than any observances upon 
which I have this day insisted, as divinely ordained. And 
still, it was the counsel and the work of God, still shall no 
cunningly devised ridicule convince me, that the armies of 
Israel would have prevailed over those of Amalek, had not 
Moses, and Aaron, and Hur discharged their duty, precisely 
as it was discharged. 

The case of Naaman, the Syrian, is not less decidedly to 
the purpose. Directed by the prophet, for his cure, to 6 go 
and wash in Jordan seven times he ' was wroth and went 
away, and said, behold I thought, he will surely come out to 
me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and 
strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are 
not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all 
the waters of Israel ? May I not wash in them and be clean V 
But if he had not happily returned to a better mind, if he had 
not 6 dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the 
saying of the man of God,' never would his flesh have ' come 
again like unto the flesh of a little child ;' never would he 
have become s clean.' 

It is from such passages, that I obtain the principles, which 
regulate my conduct in relation to the Church of Christ. Show 
me what God hath established, and my faith is secured, my 
obedience is compelled. There is a voice from heaven ever 
whispering to my heart the doctrine it once sounded aloud in 
the ears of Peter, 6 what God hath cleansed, that call not thou 
common.' And these are sentiments, which I wish to incul- 

14* 



170 



cate upon the minds of all. Wit and ridicule have no place 
in my creed. They are entirely irrelevant, when sported upon 
heavenly things. Let those, who differ in opinion from us ; 
let those, who are prejudiced against our peculiar ceremonies, 
substitute argument for satire, and testimony for assertion ; 
let them prove that they have proceeded from a corrupt source, 
and not from the unerring counsels of heaven ; let them do 
this, and I will be as ready to adopt their system, as I am now 
zealous in maintaining what is conscientiously believed to be 
the truth divulged in holy oracles. 

In the meantime, I shall go on my way rejoicing in the 
conviction, that our Church only requires to be generally 
known, in order to be generally embraced ; and that the more 
her peculiarities are investigated, the more certainly it will 
appear, that she has her foundation upon the Rock of Ages. 
The morning of the next sabbath will be devoted to the sub- 
ject of publick forms of prayer ; and although I am sensible 
of the injurious light in which they are too often regarded, I 
shall proceed with the utmost confidence in maintaining their 
intrinsick value and scriptural origin. And may Almighty 
God, in the abundance of his goodness, grant me wisdom to 
examine, with power and effect, one of the most interesting 
features of our spiritual economy. May he enable me to con- 
tend successfully, as well as earnestly, for the faith once deliv- 
ered to the saints ; and to him, the Father, with the Son and 
Holy Ghost, shall be ascribed everlasting praises, world with- 
out end. Amen, 



171 



SERMON XI. 

isaiah lxii. 1. 

For Zions sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusa- 
lem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof 
go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp 
that burneth. 

lis* my last discourse, I attempted to vindicate the mode of 
conducting the visible pnblick worship of the Church, and 
flatter myself with the hope, that you must have perceived 
how admirably and how faithfully it coincides with the injunc- 
tions and examples exhibited in the scriptures. With many 
persons, all these observances are regarded with the utmost 
contempt, not to say abhorrence. They revile them for what 
they ignorantly term their papal origin, and fondly imagine 
their own to be a far more simple and devout method of ap- 
proaching the throne of grace, and paying their homage to 
the great Jehovah. Before the kings of this earth, the knee 
may be bent, but not before the King of Kings and Lord of 
Lords. It would be too formal, perhaps too servile and obse- 
quious. It would savour too much of those abjects, who fawn 
upon the persons of princes, and little coalesce with our stern- 
ly inflexible republican principles. 

But embrace, brethren, what doctrines you please in relation 
to this world and its political institutions, they must not come 
in competition with the higher concerns of religion. God 
will still continue to be King in Zion, and Lord of All ; 6 his 
kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from 
generation to generation.' In his presence, every high look 
should be cast down, and every stubborn knee be bent. It is 
more reverent, more humble, more expressive of the infinite 



172 



disparity subsisting between the august Creator, and the poor 
worms of the dust, who feed upon his bounty, who respire the 
vital fluid, and enjoy all the good things of this life, by his 
permission alone. 

I freely concede, that external ceremonies are not to be 
compared with the lifting up of the heart unto God in the 
heavens. I know that our Saviour severely rebuked those 
pharisees. who paid tithes of all that they possessed, even of 
^ mint and rue. and all manner of herbs.* But recollect the 
cause. It was not. as some people would adroitly argue : it 
was not. that he condemned the extreme rigour with which 
they complied with the letter of the law. It was because 
they did not at the same time catch its spirit. It was because 
they exhausted all their obedience in the minor duty, and 
1 passed over judgment and the love of God passed over • the 
weightier matters.' and rigidly observed the lighter ; when in 
his estimate of religious obligation, there should have been no 
omission of either : when, to use his own emphatick language. 
■ these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other 
undone.' Language, that as broadly condemns the modern 
despiser, as it once did the ancient observer of little things. 
I am therefore for that golden an, that truly safe and Chris- 
tian course, which ventures not, on any pretence whatever, to 
set aside a single ceremony, institution, precept, or doctrine, 
which the divine wisdom hath ordained. I am for both out- 
ward and inward devotion. I am for cultivating the latter, 
m the precise dress and manner, in which the former was 
originally clothed and approved of heaven. When I come to 
appear before thee, O God, in the congregation of the right- 
eous, may my knees be as prone, as my heart should be hum- 
ble ; may my prayers be the same with that beautiful and 
solemn liturgy, which has for ages survived the scorn of the 
scorner, and extorted the admiration of the wise and good. 

With respect to prayer, it is indeed most astonishing, that 
a contrary practice was ever suffered to prevail among those, 
who call themselves, and many of whom doubtless are? the 



173 



sincere disciples of Jesus, It is at variance with all scripture, 
with the counsels of Him, who heareth prayer, with the pre- 
cedents furnished for our imitation by the prophets and the 
Jewish Church, by our blessed Saviour, the Apostles, and 
primitive Christians. For publick extemporary prayer in the 
house of God, I do not scruple to affirm, that there is not one 
syllable in justification, from Genesis to Revelation. It is 
altogether of recent origin, and of human device. It is among 
that infinitely vast variety of new projects and new doctrines, 
which have come to light since the volume of inspiration has 
been closed, which have neither prophecy nor miracle to 
enforce their claim upon our observance, and that, however 
conformable to human prejudice, will not for a single moment 
endure the test of truth and reason. 

For what is the language of truth, of Almighty truth itself? 
1 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty 
to utter any thing before God ; for God is in heaven, and 
thou upon earth : therefore let thy words be few. 5 Does 
this look like unpremeditated extemporaneous prayer ? Does 
it sanction the clothing of those thoughts with unselected 
words, which rise up unadvisedly in the mind, which are the 
offspring of the moment, and are often known to convey ideas 
and principles, as unfit for God to hear, as for man to utter ? 
Certainly, brethren, if there be such an errour, as being 
rash with the mouth and hasty with the heart in uttering 
any thing before this majestick Being, it must be found 
among those, who disdain to resort to written forms ; who 
boldly pronounce our book of common prayer a dead letter, 
entirely bereft of the life and soul of devotion ; who are 
never too busily engaged in the cares of this world, or dis- 
composed through human passion or human frailty, but that 
they can rush at a moment's warning into the dread presence 
of God, and pray as confidently, as if they had premeditated 
for hours, the most solemn performance, in which we are 
ever employed. 

Not however to anticipate the remarks, which will hereaf- 



174 



ter become more appropriate ; I design to examine, with all 
the brevity in my power, the testimony furnished by the 
scriptures in favour of our mode of conducting publick 
worship, in the use of precomposed forms of prayer. Did 
they really deserve the opprobrium, so frequently and so pre- 
sumptuously cast upon them, it would seem very extraordinary, 
that the earliest act of publick devotion, commemorated by 
the inspired penmen, should be of this description. I allude 
to the anthem celebrating the deliverance of Israel from the 
hand of Pharaoh, and commencing in this exulting strain, 
' I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously : 
the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The 
Lord is my strength and song, and he has become my sal- 
vation : he is my God, and I will prepare him a habitation ; 
my father's God, and I will exalt him.' You will find the 
entire anthem in the fifteenth chapter of Exodus. You will 
there find, tnat it was first sung, by Moses and the male 
population of Israel, and that Miriam the prophetess, and all 
the women immediately went out, 6 with timbrels and dances,' 
and ' answered them,' repeating the same words. Nothing 
then can be more evident than its precomposed character, 
that it was prepared beforehand for general use, and on this 
triumphant solemnity recited by the general voice. 

Various other forms of devotion in the pentateuch also ap- 
pear to have been divinely prescribed. I will instance but 
two of them. In the twenty first chapter of Deuteronomy, a 
prayer is provided, to be used after the entrance into the 
promised land in the case of secret homicide. 6 A heifer, 
which had not been wrought with, and which had not drawn 
in the yoke,' was to be first sacrificed, $ and the priests, the 
sons of Levi' were to 6 come near,' 'and all the elders of that 
city next unto the slain man,' were to 6 wash their hands over 
the heifer ;' they were to i answer and say, our hands have 
not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it. Be 
merciful, O Lord, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast 
redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Is- 



175 



raePs charge.' In the sixth chapter of Numbers, 'the Lord 
spake unto Moses, saying, speak unto Aaron, and unto his 
sons, saying, on this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, 
saying unto them, the Lord bless thee, and keep thee ; the 
Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto 
thee ; the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give 
thee peace.' 

Thus early then did the Almighty sanction the use of forms 
in publick worship ; thus early enjoin them upon the obser- 
vation of the people, whom his own right hand had redeemed-, 
from the house of bondage. So far from being preferred, 
extemporaneous effusions are not so much as named, in that 
interesting period of Jewish history. All was form. All, 
what is now perversely termed formality, and it was accepta- 
ble to God. It was pleasing and grateful to Him, who is 
now T but too commonly supposed to turn away with loathing 
and abhorrence from similar acts of prayer and praise. In 
the expiation for murder, it is said, that * the blood shall be 
forgiven them.' After the benediction, which he himself 
deigned to compose for Aaron and his sons, it is written-, 
6 they shall put my name upon the children of Israel, and I 
will bless them.' 

And how was it, brethren, in the time of David ? Was 
publick worship then celebrated, in the premeditated or the 
unpremeditated form ? Let the bible answer, and you will 
learn, that the Levites were directed 4 to stand every morning 
to thank and praise the Lord, and likewise at even,' 6 accord- 
ing to the order commanded unto them.' Let the entire 
hymns of prayer, as well as of praise, principally composed 
j by the sweet psalmist of Israel, let them answer, and you 
, will learn, that they constituted a material part of the temple 
service. On one occasion, David delivered a particular 
' psalm, to thank the Lord, into the hand of Asaph and his 
brethren ;' a psalm containing this petition, 6 save us, O God 
of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from 
the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, and 



176 



glory in thy praise and when it was repeated, ' all the peo- 
ple said, amen, and praised the Lord. 5 

Nor was this worship confined to that age alone. In the 
days of Hezekiah, and in the house of the Lord, ' the king, 
and all that were present with him, bowed themselves, and 
worshipped. Moreover, Hezekiah the king and the princes 
commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the Lord with the 
words of David, and of Asaph the seer : and they sang praises 
with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.' 
6 So the service of the house of the Lord was set in order. And 
Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared 
the people.' 

Long afterwards, at the erection of the second temple, a 
similar worship prevailed. In the book of Ezra, it is said ; 
6 when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the 
Lord, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and 
the Levites, 'the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the 
Lord, after the ordinances of David king of Israel. And they 
sang together by course, in praising and giving thanks unto 
the Lord ; because he is good, for his mercy endureth forever 
toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, 
when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the 
house of the Lord w T as laid.' 

And here let me reiterate the well known fact, that several 
of the psalms were composed in the language of prayer, and 
at the same time were offered up, by all the congregation. 
In the eightieth, for example, we have this expression thrice 
repeated, 6 turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; 
and we shall be saved.' In one instance, it is even followed 
by an invocation, that clearly shows its imploring character, 
and the union of priests and people in divine worship ; ] O 
Lord God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the 
prayer of thy people ?' 

But lest a distinction should still be urged between psalms 
of praise, and petitions for mercy and forgiveness, lest it 
should be said, that while the former were precomposed, the 



177 



latter were unpremeditated ; in addition to the examples al- 
ready produced, I will refer you to the prophet Joel, for a 
form of prayer, to be repeated in the temple, under these cir- 
cumstances, * Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a 
solemn assembly : Gather the people together, sanctify the 
congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and 
those that suck the breasts ; let the bridegroom go forth of 
his chamber, and the bride out of her closet : Let the priests, 
the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the 
altar, and let them say, spare thy people, O Lord, and give 
not thy heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over 
them.' After which it is added, 6 then will the Lord be jealous 
for his land, and pity his people.' 1 And it shall come to pass, 
that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be 
delivered.' 

I will refer you to Hosea, for a yet more explicit declara- 
tion, in favour of forms of prayer, addressed to all the people; 
* O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God ; for thou hast fallen 
by thine iniquity. Take with you words, and turn to the 
Lord ; say unto him, take away all iniquity, and receive, us 
graciously : so will we render the calves of our lips. Ashur 
shall not save us ; we will not ride upon horses ; neither will 
we say any more to the work of our hands, ye are our Gods : * 
for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.' Yes, brethren, 
words were to be taken, words were actually given. And 
what were the blessings promised in return ? 4 1 will heal 
their backsliding, I will love them freely : for mine anger is 
turned away from him. I will be as the dew unto Israel : he 
shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. 
His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive 
tree, and his smell as Lebanon. They that dwell under his 
shadow shall return ; they shall revive as the corn, and grow 
as the vine : the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Leb- 
anon.' 

How obvious then to every man unperverted by prejudice, 
that the Almighty hath no such objection to precomposed 

15 



lit 



forms of prayer, as is vainly imagined in these latter days. 
From the bottom of my heart I could wish that they, who on 
this account are perpetually calumniating the service of the 
Church, could present us with numerous examples of publick 
extemporary prayer from the records of the old testament. 
The difference of worship between us, so far as their authority 
was concerned, would then be circumscribed by the question 
of relative value or adaptation to the condition of man ; it 
would cease to exhibit on the one side a flagrant departure 
from the original mode of serving God in his holy temple, and 
no longer prove a formidable obstacle to our being more 
closely united, in the bond? of Christian fellowship and love. 
But alas ! the thing is impossible, not one such example is to 
be found. Whoever publickly called upon the name of the 
Lord, in the Jewish Church, was furnished with words com- 
municated b,y inspiration from heaven. With these? he was 
to praise the Lord Most High ; with these, invoke the throne 
of grace ; with these, the incense of his soul, and the sacrifice 
of a broken and contrite spirit were to ascend up on high ; 
and from their combined efficacy were to result all those ben- 
efits, which the Almighty, in the boundless extent of his mer- 
cy and benevolence, bestowed upon his ancient and peculiar 
people. 

Let it however be distinctly understood. .that if our blessed 
Saviour, in the course of his ministry? had either condemned 
the customary service of the temple, or had instituted another 
mode of drawing near to God, with a clean heart in full assu- 
rance of faith ; let it be distinctly understood, that this condem- 
nation and this mode would not have been in the slightest 
degree affected, by the previous forms of devotion prescribed , 
to the Jewish nation. They would have been superseded, as 
circumcision was superseded by baptism, and the passover by 
the supper of the Lord. 

But here, it is very material to be borne in mind, that our 
divine Redeemer never suffered one word of censure to escape 
his lips, in relation to precomposed prayers. At the period 



179 



of his advent, it is universally admitted, that the Jews posses- 
sed a national liturgy, and that it was repeated in the temple 
twice every day, at the celebration of the morning and evening 
sacrifice. And so far was this from being considered a dese- 
cration of the courts of the Lord's house, that 6 when the days 
of her purification, according to the law of Moses, were ac- 
complished,' thither the virgin Mary repaired, with her first- 
born son, the infant Jesus, 6 to offer a sacrifice, according to 
that which is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle-doves, 
or two young pigeons.' There also it was, that Simeon 6 came 
by the Spirit,' 4 and the same man was just and devput, waiting 
for the consolation of Israel : and the Holy Ghost was upon 
him.' There it-was, that 4 one Anna a prophetess, the daugh- 
ter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser,' and 4 a widow of about 
fourscore and four years,' resided, and 4 departed not from the 
temple, but served God with fastings and prayers, night and 
day.' 

And can you believe, if that temple had been profaned by 
its liturgy, that the purification service would have been sub- 
mitted to, by the holy child Jesus, or that Simeon and Anna 
would have been so highly commended ; the one, for being 
4 just and devout ;' the other, for 'serving God with fastings 
and riiAYSSs ?' Can you believe, that the Holy Spirit would 
have either carried the good old Israelite there, or suffered 
the prophetess to remain, joining in and contaminated by the 
breath of unhallowed prayer . ? The idea is too absurd, too 
preposterous. All these events afford indisputable evidence, 
that God was well pleased with the devotional forms there 
employed, and if many of the priests and worshippers were 
4 in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity,' that he 
could still address them, in the language, once appropriated 
to their forefathers, 4 they have well said all that they have 
spoken. Oh that there were such a heart in them.' 

But even on the supposition, that these inferences are not as 
fully warranted, as I am disposed to maintain ; we all know, 
that when our Saviour had arrived at the years of maturity, 



180 



and had commenced his ministry, he invariably frequented the 
Jewish synagogue ; the synagogue, in which, no man will 
venture to deny, that publick prayers were celebrated after a 
written form. For its liturgy is scill in existence. It was 
read three times in the course of every day, and began in this 
manner, 6 O God, let thy name be magnified and sanctified in 
the world, which thou hast created according to thy good 
pleasure. Let thy kingdom have dominion therein, let redemp- 
tion flourish, and let the Messiah come speedily, that thy name 
may be glorified.' 

How then, if the contemners of our service are to be cred- 
ited, and their mode is to be pre: erred, how are we to account 
for these frequent visits of Cue-: to me synagogue 1 Provided 
we are so cold and formal in our devotions, owing to their 
being previously prepared and understood, how especially are 
we to account for his neglect, in not condemning a similar 
worship ; He could readily reprove the Jews for every other 
offence. He could reckon up in order the long catalogue of 
their crimes ; could call them hypocrites, whited sepulchres, 
and a generation of vipers ; could, on observing their profa- 
nation, drive them out from his holy temple : but never, no 
never did he impute to them tne slightest errour, for their 
constant daily use of publick forms of prayer. In his hearing, 
they were rehearsed in temple and in synagogue, but not one 
word betrayed his disapprobation. He never counselled his 
disciples against them. You have heard what he did say, 
6 thou shalt not be as the hypocrites : for they love to pray 
standing in the synagogues ;' and how easy it would have been 
to have added, who love to use forms of prayer ; but no such 
thing. He rather countenanced those forms by his presence, 
and is even supposed by many to have adopted them himself. 

Nor is this opinion by any means improbable. For had he 
refused to participate in publick worship ; had he appeared, 
when it was celebrated, without uniting his own with the de- 
votions of others : how eagerly would his adversaries have 
seized upon this circumstance to render him odious with the 



181 



people ; how promptly have denounced him, as an impiou3, 
prayerless sinner. But amid all the vile, detestable calumnies, 
with which they were fain to blacken his reputation, this charge 
was never suggested ; and certainly the profound silence of 
so many, and such implacable accusers, upon a subject so 
important in itself, is no slight evidence of his having joined 
in the worship of both the synagogue and the temple. 

Be this however as it may; he never objected to the written 
formularies observed in either. He never ascribed to them 
the inefficacy and want of spirituality, so loudly complained 
of, in our devotional exercises. He never told them, in their 
lieu, to pray extemporaneously. So far from this, he did not 
hesitate to provide for his disciples a form of prayer, the most 
simple, beautiful, and comprehensive the world has ever seen. 
I need not repeat it. Of all the inspired writings, it is the 
most familiar to your ears. Long will it be recorded to the 
praise and glory of the Church, that it preserves a conspicu- 
ous place in all her numerous offices of devotion. Encouraged 
in using it, by the express command of its Author, she consid- 
ers it as determining with unerring certainty the abstract 
question concerning liturgies. If they are inexpedient, if 
they are justly obnoxious to the charge of formality ; so is the 
prayer drawn up and recommended by our Saviour Christ. 
He must either have erred in judgment, in yielding to the 
wishes of his followers, or he must have intentionally laid 
them under an obligation fatally calculated to impair, if not 
destroy, the fervency of their petitions to the mercy seat. How 
strange ! how very strange ! that the modern expedient never 
entered into his mind, that he never intimated to them the 
paramount value of extemporaneous addresses. 

Had he deemed them advisable, I cannot conceive of a 
more suitable occasion, than that afforded in the garden of 
Gethsemane, Why then were they not recommended ? Why 
were they not embraced by the three disciples, Peter, James, 
and John ? In obedience to the command, i Watch and pray, 9 
they must at least have attempted the discharge of the duty, 



182 



for to them the expression applies, ' the spirit indeed is wil- 
ling, but the flesh is weak.' And yet, if they engaged in any 
other exercise than secret prayer, if the extemporaneous kind 
was adopted ; How came it to pass that they all fell asleep ? 
It was but a short time that their Master left them. He re- 
buked them, because they could not watch with him one hour. 
And was he only absent a part of that time ? It is truly won- 
derful that all these disciples yielded to the influence of slum- 
ber ; that even the one did not escape its contagion who, if 
the present theory be correct, must have lifted up his voice, 
and led in their common devotions. Hence I conclude that 
the practice of our separatists was then unknown, and am 
again tempted to exclaim, How strange ! how very strange ! 
that the modern expedient never entered into the mind of 
Christ, that he never intimated to his chosen followers the 
paramount value of extemporaneous addresses. 

But the subject is too solemn and sacred to venture upon 
the borders of irony. I will be very plain and candid. I will 
show, beyond the possibility of a reasonable doubt, that our 
blessed Saviour must have entertained very different views -of 
publick unpremeditated prayer, from such as prevail among 
many of our dissenting brethren. Having laid aside all forms, 
as both idle and pernicious, it is well known, that they embrace 
every opportunity to improve what is termed the gift of pray- 
er. In many parts of our country, there is scarcely an assem- 
bly of any description, which is not opened in this mariner. 
Not only religious, but moral, literary, and humane societies ; 
not only these, but occasions are selected peculiarly inappro- 
priate. A regiment cannot meet, an election cannot be held, 
but the confusion, turmoil, and strife of the subsequent scenes 
must be preceded, by the supplications of a single individual, 
uttered in the name of a congregation, eagerly intent upon the 
amusement or the contention of the day, and never more un- 
prepared to appear in the presence of a heart-searching God, 
But if our divine Lord intended, that his followers should 
pursue a course of this kind, Why did he forbear to give us an 



183 



example ? About to appear in far more important transac- 
tions ; about to heal the sick, to restore the lame and impo- 
tent, the blind, and deaf, and dumb ; about to cast out devils, 
and to raise the dead ; Why did he not call upon his disciples 
to listen to the devout aspirations of his soul, and unite in 
presenting them before his Father in heaven ? 

Speaking after the manner of men, I should have thought 
the solemnity extremely judicious and proper ; but the thoughts 
of Christ were not as our thoughts. He never said to his 
disciples on these, or any other occasional meetings, Let us 
pray. Often, as a preparatory exercise, he would retire by 
himself, and pour out his soul to God. At times, he would 
also lift up his eyes to heaven, and, in some short personal 
ejaculation, invoke its blessing on the miracle about to be 
performed ; but a publick extemporary prayer in its present 
acceptation, he never made. I have carefully examined all 
the incidents of his eventful life, and there is not one to be 
found. The pathetick intercession, in the fifteenth chapter 
of St John, does not form an exception. The personal pro- 
noun, I, is constantly employed, and like his other individual 
devotions, it was probably uttered in private, or else, in. the 
mental form implied in this account, ' and it came to pass, 
as he was alo^e praying, his disciples were with him.' 

And greatly am I supported in this interpretation, and in 
the general conclusion, by the terms adopted by his disciples, 
in the application already adverted to. They could not but 
perceive the frequency, with which he retired from their pres- 
ence. They could not but know the reason. 6 And it came 
to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he 
ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to 
pray, as John also taugiit his disciples.' The petition was 
immediately complied with, and the Lord's prayer was the 
result. 

But now, I ask you, if such a request would have ever been 
preferred, by them or either of them, provided they had been 
long accustomed to hear from his lips the language of prayer ? 



184 



The answer cannot be mistaken. That hearing alone would 
have furnished them with the most fitly chosen words, as 
the model for their devotions. There would have been 
no necessity for the reply, 4 when ye pray say, Our Father 
which art in heaven,' and so forth. For when or where, in 
this age of unpremeditated publick addresses to God ; when 
or where have you known the officiating minister to be soli- 
cited to teach his hearers to pray ? He, who is perpetually 
instructing them by his own performances, and who would 
be very apt to consider the petition itself, an insidious 
attack upon his capacity to lead, in the worship of the sanc- 
tuary. How variant then must be his practice, from the 
practice of Christ. How fairly may we presume, that this 
wonderful tact and volubility in publick prayer, so extensively 
witnessed in our age, was utterly unknown at the period, when 
the holy Jesus went about continually doing good ; when from 
village to village, from city to city, he performed his marvel- 
lous acts, and preached the gospel of the kingdom. 

And has he not in all things left us an example ' to walk 
even as he walked V Has not the Apostle directed us, 6 let 
this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus V "What 
then are we to think of this extraordinary innovation and 
change ? If he could approve, by his constant attendance, 
and scarcely to be questioned use, the precomposed liturgies 
of the temple and synagogue ; What objection can any man 
rationally entertain to a similar mode of worship ? If he 
could guard his disciples against being led astray, by long 
prayers, delivered by hypocrites at the corners of the streets, 
to be seen of men ; Why should we bestow our admiration 
upon these novel and unscriptural exhibitions of human in- 
genuity ? If such language as this, fell from his blessed lips, 
• but thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet ; and when 
thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father, which is in secret, 
and thy Father which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly ; s 
Why cannot we be influenced, by an injunction enforced by 
his personal practice, rather than make our own thoughts and 



185 



petitions the only medium and directory, for the publick de- 
votion of others ? 

I have already, brethren, given you to understand, that it 
was my determination to be very direct and explicit, and this 
determination will be adhered to, in the future prosecution of 
a subject not yet exhausted. But permit me to assure you, 
that I speak more in sorrow, than in anger, when the solemn 
convictions of duty compel me to raise my feeble voice against 
those innovations, whose tendency it is to sweep away the 
landmarks of the scriptures, and obscure the light of revealed 
truth. I will not impute intentional errour to those, whose 
practices I cannot shrink from opposing, but certainly it is 
equally, and even more disastrous, than if it had been delib- 
erately and wantonly embraced. May God therefore, of his 
infinite mercy, avert the increasing evils, which it threatens ; 
may he heal the dissensions, which disturb the peace of Christ- 
endom, by ordering the steps of every man in the way he 
should go ; and to Him, the Father, with the Son and Holy 
Ghost, shall be ascribed, in the Unity of an ever blessed 
Trinity, everlasting praises. Amen. 



SERMON XII. 



isaiah Ixii. 1. 

For ZiorCs sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's 
sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth 
as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that 
burneth. 

It is not too much to assert, that the evidence, produced 
upon the last sabbath, was sufficient to convince all candid 
and unbiassed minds, that from the time of Moses to the 



186 



period embraced by the ministry of Christ, all scripture is 
decidedly in favour of the use of forms of prayer, in the 
publick worship of God. So worshipped the Hebrews in the 
wilderness. So worshipped the prophets, and the Church 
established at Jerusalem. So worshipped the Holy One of 
Israel, whose example, it might have been thought, would 
prove conclusive upon his followers ; but against whom, it 
has been left for modern Christians indirectly to prefer the 
charge of formality. 

I must confess to you, that I can regard it in no other light. 
If we are formalists, simply because we are attached to forms 
of prayer, more especially to that form, which Christ himself 
recommended and even enjoined ; so must this holy Being 
share the obloquy ; so are we, in point of fact, defending him, 
when we are employed in exonerating ourselves from an un- 
founded aspersion ; a consideration of itself sufficient to nerve 
our hearts, and imbolden our speech. We know who it was 
that 6 esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the 
treasures of Egypt ;' and was this endured in mere anticipa- 
tion of his future advent ? How much more should we be 
steadfast and unwavering in our imitation of him, who have 
been counselled by the words of his mouth, and directed by 
the purity and the holiness of his example. If men have 
nothing more substantial to allege to our prejudice ; 6 blessed 
are ye when' they 6 shall revile you, and persecute you, and 
shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.' 
Well may ye ' rejoice, and be exceeding glad ; for great is 
your rew ard in heaven.' 

But I have said, that the Apostles were also accustomed to 
address the throne of mercy with precomposed prayers ; and 
where is the person that can have the temerity to deny it ? 
Even upon the supposition, that the bibl e was here entirely 
silent, their characters alone would furnish a species of evi- 
dence, which no art or ingenuity could possibly invalidate. 
For were they not eminently faithful, and eminently obedient ? 
After the miracle of the resurrection had thoroughly convinced 



137 



them of the divinity and sonship of Christ ; were they ever 
known intentionally to violate his commands ; to set up their 
own in opposition to his will ; and justify themselves on the 
pretence of superiour wisdom and sagacity ? The very in- 
quiry, if seriously proposed, w ould be an insult to their memory, 
and a libel upon their piety. We must cease to admire their 
holv boldness in the cause of Christ, we must cease to con- 
sider them his faithful ambassadors to the ends of the earth, 
the moment we admit, that they did not pray precisely as he 
directed them. If it was not hypocrisy, that induced them to 
ask, 4 Lord, teach us to pray ;' if there was no paltering with 
words in the reply, ' when ye pray, say, Our Father which art 
in heaven, 5 and the entertaining of such thoughts would be 
blasphemy ; then is it most manifest, that the Apostles ha- 
bituated themselves to this inspired manual of devotion ; then 
would it require a miracle to convince me, that these holy 
men disregarded the express command of their Master. Thev, 
who could 6 count all things but loss for the excellency of hi3 
knowledge.' They, who for him, and the propagation of his 
gospel, freely encountered all manner of perils, by land and 
by sea. They, who hesitated not to seal with their blood, the 
testimony they bore to the truth of his doctrines. No, no, 
such men could not but do, as Christ required ; they could not 
but pray, as he himself had exacted. Whoever for the sake 
of a party would gainsay it, would for that party gainsay every 
thing sacred, and every thing divine. Upon this consideration 
alone, we may safely determine the true character of apostoi- 
ick prayer, that it was by a form, a form prescribed by the great 
Head of the Church, and imposing upon his chosen an obli- 
gation, equally coercive with the grand commission, to preach 
and baptize. 

If however it should be imagined, that, in their more publick 
devotions, a greater latitude was permitted, not merely in 
relation to words, which no one denies, but even to precedent 
and principle ; so that they were authorized to make their 
own extemporary prayers, the leading worship of the sanctu- 



188 



ary ; to such an imagination, I have to object, that it is 
altogether gratuitous ; that it is warranted by no permission 
given them by Christ ; and by no fact appearing in the record 
of their ministry. 

On the contrary, before his crucifixion, they had constantly 
attended him, in his visits to the temple and the synagogue, 
in order to participate in their service ; and after his ascen- 
sion, those visits were so far from being interrupted, that they 
are continually referred to. 6 Peter and John,' for example, 

* went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, 
being the ninth hour.' And of this temple 6 was it written, 
4 my house shall be called the house of prayer ?' At that very 
hour, were publick forms of devotion invariably rehearsed ? 
You cannot possibly believe, that the Apostles neglected to 
join in them ; that they were mute spectators of the scene, 
neither approving nor disapproving the service. The pre- 
sumption would be more violent, than I am able to reconcile 
with their acknowledged piety on the one hand, or their 
matchless intrepidity on the other. Either those prayers were 
proper, and they piously united their own, with the voice of 
the multitude, or they were improper, and they boldly de- 
nounced them, as lifeless and insipid forms. But not one 
word of censure can we discover ; not one syllable did the 
Apostles utter, in temple or in synagogue, to the prejudice of 
a precomposed liturgy ; not one imputation was cast upon 
them by the Jews, for either discrediting their worship, or 
declining to adopt it, for their own. The conclusion is there- 
fore irresistible, that they both used and approved ; that 

* Peter and John went up together into the temple, at the 
hour of prayer,' with no such objection to prepared formularies, 
as many of our modern Christians consider unanswerably 
cogent and imperative. 

Not however to confide entirely, upon what may be termed 
negative evidence, I proceed to the positive, and find myself 
at once replenished with incontestable proof, that the Apostles 
employed forms, in their joint devotions. On their return to 



189 



* Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, they went up into 
an upper room, 5 and 4 all continued with one accord in prayer 
and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of 
Jesus, and with the brethren.' And that, this 6 one accord' was 
not the mere assent of the mind, to petitions preferred by a 
single individual of their number, is obvious from the circum- 
stance, that in the fourth chapter of the Acts, two of the 
Apostles, and the company with them, are represented to have 
4 lifted up their voices to God with one accord,' in a prayer, 
which is there preserved within the compass of seven verses 
and that must necessarily have been previously made known 
and explained to the whole assembly. So likewise in the 
case of Joseph and Matthias, the Apostles, with one hundred 
and twenty disciples, < prayed, and said, Thou Lord, which 
knowest the hearts of all men, show whether of these two 
thou hast chosen, that he may take part of this ministry and 
apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he 
might go to his own place.' 

How plainly then does the record disclose, by the introduc- 
tion of these forms, what reason itself would teach, that they 
were enabled to lift up their voices simultaneously, owing to 
the fact of their having premeditated prayers to offer. Upon 
no other principle can we account for the vocal union, unless 
we resort to the immediate interference of the Spirit, and 
then it would only enhance the value of the authority in 
favour of forms. It would only prove, that upon sudden and 
unprepared emergencies, they were miraculously furnished 
by the intervention of the Almighty himself. 

There is besides a remarkable difference in the account 
given by the inspired writer, between the praying and the 
preaching of the Apostles, which strongly confirms the doc- 
trine I am endeavouring to maintain. When they with other 
Christians assembled for devotional exercises, the plural 
pronoun invariably appears. It is not said that Peter, or 
James, or John, or either of their brethren lifted up his voice 
and prayed in the name of all. But the language is, ( they 

16 



190 



prayed ;' 4 these all continued with one accord in prayer and 
supplication ;' 6 they lifted up their voice to God with one 
accord.' The moment however that 'preaching commenced, 
the style is changed, and 6 Peter standing up with the eleven, 
lifted up his voice and said.' On another occasion, s when 
Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, ye men of Israel, 
why marvel ye at this ? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as 
though by our own power or holiness we had made this man 
to walk ?' And so of every other recorded sermon, no matter 
how many Apostles were present, one only is reported to have 
addressed it to the people, or the narrative is so constructed, 
as to make it evident, that they never united their voices in 
the delivery of a long protracted discourse. 

The distinction is still more to the purpose, when the case 
of the disciples or congregation of believers is embraced. 
For they did not simply listen to prayers ; ' they lifted up their 
voice to God with one accord.' But at the same time, they 
listened to preaching. And why ? What reason can be as- 
signed for this diversity ? Surely, brethren, ye can be at no 
loss to anticipate the only fair construction. Prayers were 
previously known, and therefore they could join in them, with 
voice as well as with heart. Sermons were unknown, were 
delivered for their instruction, and therefore they could only 
receive them into honest and good hearts, that they might 
bring forth fruit unto holiness. 

Let me also advert to another circumstance peculiarly in> 
pressive. Often is it mentioned, that, when the Apostles and 
disciples were together, they united in publick devotion. But 
when Paul was at Athens, and 6 certain philosophers of the 
epicureans, and of the stoicks encountered him,' be could 
stand up in the midst of Mars hill, and pronounce the well 
known discourse, opening in this manner, ' Ye men of Athens, 
I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.' And still, 
there was no prayer, no asking of the assembly to worship 
God. If Paul had been accustomed to the extemporaneous 
kind, he could certainly have prayed for them, and they could 



191 



and would have listened, as they did listen to his preaching. 
But there were no believers among them, they knew not how 
to call upon God, and for this reason he refrained from prayer ; 
it would not have been publick worship ; extemporary effu- 
sions were not then in vogue ; and neither at this place, nor 
at any other, does he appear to have audibly prayed, unless 
there were some in the congregation, who were antecedent- 
ly prepared to mingle their voices with his own. 

Tell me not then, that the Apostles were averse to precom- 
posed forms, if their practice had been similar to that of 
many of our modern missionaries, they would have always 
commenced their religious solemnities with prayer, whether 
it was known to the congregation or not, whether they had 
fellow worshippers or not. 

I know very well the tenour of the argument advanced by 
our opponents. I have repeatedly heard it pronounced, with 
an air of triumph and exultation, worthy of a better cause, 
worthy of something more candid and ingenuous. It is this. 
Do you think, that the Apostles prayed with a book ? Do 
you think, that, when Paul kneeled down, with the disciples, 
upon the sea shore, at Tyre, i and prayed with them all,' 
(an expression denoting vocal union, or why should 6 all' be 
added ?) he held a book in his hand ? 

I confess indeed, that the objection is conclusive and unan- 
swerable, with such as will neither investigate nor determine 
for themselves. But to those, who prefer reason to ridicule, 
the inquiries will be far more . to the purpose, Did not the 
Apostles possess the faculty of memory I Could they not, as 
easily as ourselves, repeat from memory, the prayer of our 
Lord ? We know that they did repeat it, and if the subject 
was not too serious, we might retort upon our dissenting 
brethren ; Do you think, that the Apostles rehearsed it from 
a book ? Do you think that as often as he used it, St Paul 
held a book in his hand ? 

The truth is, that the argument is entirely unworthy of 
Christians. In the modern acceptation, there were no books 



192 



at that time. Until long centuries after, the art of printing 
was unknown. Manuscripts alone were employed. The 
volume of inspiration itself was termed the scripture or the 
scriptures. And did not Christ require his disciples to s search 
the scriptures V Did they not conform to the injunction, and 
address it to others ? Did not Philip read from the scripture, 
in his interview with the eunuch, although he was before per- 
fectly acquainted with its contents ? 

And precisely thus with liturgies : They also were written 
out, and set in order. They occupied a place in the Jewish 
temple and synagogues. The devotional psalms of David, 
whether of prayer or of praise, it will not be denied, were 
therein daily rehearsed, and not unseldom in the presence of 
Christ and his disciples. Why then all this contumely, this 
contemptuous sneering at books, now so easily obtained, and 
so admirably adapted to the uses of publick worship ? Why 
in particular, are not the questions triumphantly asked ? Do 
you think that the Apostles sang from a hymn book ? Do you 
think, that, 6 at midnight, when Paul and Silas prayed, and 
sang praises unto God,' they held hymn books in their hands ? 

But enough of an objection more plausible than wise, more 
calculated to delude than to instruct. While printed psalms 
and hymns are to be found in the seceding Churches, while 
they are mostly constructed in the language of supplication, 
opposition from that quarter, to our book of common prayer, 
comes with an ill grace, and is chiefly remarkable for the in- 
consistency betrayed by the individuals, who raise it. 

The only remaining testimony, to which I have to call your 
attention upon the subject before us, is the practice of the 
primitive Christians. During the lives of the Apostles, they 
of course conformed to their example, as has been already 
sufficiently proved, and ever after, there was no departure 
from the principle divinely established. They used the prayer 
of our Lord. From a large number of authorities in my pos- 
session, I will present you with a few, from the most distin- 
guished authors. Tertullian says, 6 the Son taught us to pray. 



193 



Our Father, which art in heaven. ' He does not apprehend 
himself liable to the charge of formality, when he asserts, 4 our 
Lord gave his new disciples of the new testament, a new fokm 
of prayer ;' nor especially, when he terms it, ' the prayer ap- 
pointed by law,' and ' the ordinary prayer, which is to be said 
before our other prayers ; and upon which, as a foundation, 
our other prayers are to be built.' Cyprian observes, 6 Christ 
himself gave us a form of prayer, and commanded us to use it ; 
because when we speak to the Father in the Son's words, we 
shall be more easily heard.' But no one has expressed himself 
more explicitly and emphatically, than the pious and venera- 
ble Augustin, universally esteemed by catholick and protestant. 
Speaking of the Lord's prayer, these are his words, 6 our Sav- 
iour gave it to the Apostles, to the intent that they should use 
it : he taught it his disciples himself, and by them he taught 
it us ; he dictated it to us, as a lawyer would put words in his 
client's mouth,' and again 6 it is necessary for all.' He even 
declares in the most solemn manner, that 6 we cannot be God's 
children unless we use it.' 

So true it is therefore, brethren, that the primitive Chris- 
tians recognised this inspired form, as having been the foun- 
dation and guide, the manual of apostolick devotion, and that 
they also regarded it as peremptorily enjoined upon their per- 
sonal adoption. And this, not merely in private, but in publick 
worship, for which the words of the prayer are indeed most 
suitable ; it being drawn up in the plural number, and so, 
designed to be uttered, where two or three are gathered to- 
gether in the name of Christ. 

Consider then, that, if they are thus clearly and indisputably 
proved to have repeated one form, in the course of their pub- 
lick service, no objection would be likely to exist against the 
rehearsal of another and another ; that the approbation of their 
Lord, being fully ascertained in one instance, they would not 
be slow to believe it a sufficient warrant and pattern, or as 
Tertullian calls it, a foundation for their other prayers. Ac- 
cordingly we find, from the unanimous testimonv of all anti- 

16* 



194 



quity, that they were not more addicted to i singing and making 
melody in' their 6 hearts to the Lord,' with precomposed 
6 psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs,' than they were to 
supplicating his mercy and forgiveness, his grace and heavenly 
benediction, with precomposed prayers. He who could doubt 
this, might as well doubt, that there were such men as Justin 
Martyr and Origen, the former of whom speaks of 4 common 
prayer,' and the latter of 6 constituted prayers ;' might as well 
doubt, that Cyril was bishop of Jerusalem, at the middle of 
the fourth century, and contend that he never made a com- 
mentary upon the liturgy ascribed to the Apostle James, when 
that commentary is still extant, and Jerome assures us, that 
he wrote it in his younger years. 

My limits will only permit me to add, that many liturgies 
were early composed, and introduced into the primitive Church. 
Some of them were attributed to the Apostles, as those of 
Peter, and James, and one to the evangelist Mark. Others 
were anonymous, as those of Rome and Alexandria, and others 
were known to have been written by Basil, Chrysostom, and 
Ambrose. There is indeed no one fact in ecclesiastical his- 
tory susceptible of stronger proof, than the universal preva- 
lence of precomposed forms of prayer from the earliest times. 
No other publick worship obtained. No other has been alluded 
to, by the writers, who flourished in the first centuries of the 
Christian era. And are we accustomed to pronounce them, 
the best and purest ages of the Church, the ages most distin- 
guished for heartfelt piety, for holy obedience, and unaffected 
renunciation of the world, and the fashion thereof ? How 
justly may we infer, that those prayers, instead of being grad- 
ually introduced to the exclusion of such, as were unpremed- 
itated and extemporary ; that those prayers were in strict 
accordance with the worship observed by the Apostles, and 
therefore sanctioned by the unerring wisdom of God. 

It is also worthy of remark, that the ancient Syrian Church 
discovered in India, by Buchanan, and which, you will remem- 
ber, had no intercourse with the western Christians, for thir- 



195 



teen hundred years from the apostolick age, was utterly igno- 
rant of extemporary prayers, and possessed a liturgy, believed 
by its bishop, to have been coeval with its origin. 1 Here,' 
says the missionary, i as in all Churches in a state of decline, 
there is too much formality in the worship. But they have 
the bible and a scriptural liturgy ; and these will save a Church 
in the worst of times.' 

We may indeed challenge our opponents to produce one 
single instance of publick worship, celebrated in a different 
manner, anteriour to the reformation in Germany and Swit- 
zerland. By whom extemporary prayers were there introduc- 
ed, I am unable to determine. It was not by the reformer 
Calvin, for in a letter to the duke of Somerset, lord protector 
of England, written in the year fifteen hundred and forty nine, 
he was evidently opposed to such an innovation, and says, ' T 
do highly approve, that there should be a certain form of 
prayer and ecclesiastical rites. From which it should not be 
lawful for the pastors themselves to discede. — First, that pro- 
vision may be made for some people's ignorance and unskil- 
fulness. — Second, that the consent of all Churches amongst 
themselves may the more plainly appear. — Third, that order 
may be taken against the desultory levity of such, who delight 
in innovations.— Thus there ought to be an established cate- 
chism, an established administration of sacraments, (publicam 
item precum formulam,) as also a publick form of prayer.' 

The old historian Fuller inserts the original words, with the 
remark, that they 6 deserve our translation and observation,' 
and I know not that Calvin ever varied his sentiments. They 
are such as do credit to his judgment and sagacity, and if 
widely circulated might possibly relieve us from much of the 
odium, so profusely lavished upon our service, by the very 
description of innovators, whom he so freely condemns. 

The origin of extemporary prayers in England is better 
understood. They were contrived by popish emissaries dis- 
guised in the garb of protestantism, and pretending the utmost 
abhorrence of what they stigmatized, as the corruptions of 



196 



popery still existing in the English Church. The object was 
to produce division and dissension, as the surest mode of 
bringing the reformed religion into disrepute, and regaining 
the ascendency once enjoyed by the Roman pontiff. For this 
purpose, among other things, they were loud in their invectives 
against the liturgy ; they vilified it, as a new edition of the 
mass book, and insisted upon its being wholly abandoned, by 
such as were desirous of praying under the immediate influ- 
ence of the Spirit of God. 

Unhappily they were but too successful in their efforts. 
They impaired the unity, although they could not destroy the 
existence of the true Church of God. Numbers were attracted 
by the fluency and apparent devotion, with which these new- 
fangled prayers were uttered ; they did not hesitate to ascribe 
them to the direct agency of the Holy Spirit ; and soon began 
to manifest' a dislike to the service of the Church, which 
finally terminated in irreconcilable hatred and disgust. 

Delighted with the success of their first enterprise, England 
was destined to be thoroughly inundated with these coun- 
terfeit reformers ; they penetrated through all parts of the 
country : and wherever they appeared, new sects sprung up 
with mushroom precocity, differing widely on many doctrinal 
points, and conspiring in nothing else but a determination to 
eradicate the artfully assumed relicks of popery. Against all 
forms of devotion they were particularly exasperated, and 
would by no means tolerate their feigned mummery. Ex- 
temporary prayer was the nucleus round which these incon- 
gruous materials could gather with one accord. And such 
was its origin in the land of our ancestors. A few of its 
abetters were discovered, as Cumming, Heth, and others ; 
their real character was ascertained ; their disguised protes- 
tantism proved; and their actual devotion to papacy unmasked. 
But the larger number escaped ; they sowed the seeds of 
innumerable heresies and schisms, and persuaded their delud- 
ed followers, that they and they only were the salt of the earth, 
and the light of the world. 



197 



But no longer to dwell upon a subject so painful in the 
retrospect, and yet, it is to be feared, so little calculated to 
conciliate the wanderer, and bring him back to the fold from 
which he has strayed ; I prefer to congratulate you, upon the 
distinguished honour we enjoy, through adherence to those 
precomposed forms of worship, in whose favour such a cloud 
of witnesses has been adduced. And who, I ask, is best en- 
titled to determine the manner in which the Supreme Being 
is to be worshipped ? Is it the Creator himself, or the man 
he has formed ? The object to be adored, or the person re- 
quired to adore ? The Infinite and Omniscient, who can alone 
comprehend his own glory, or the finite and ignorant, from 
whom its brightest effulgence is veiled, by interposing clouds 
and darkness ? The far searching Spirit, who can read the 
inmost thoughts of the heart ; who can detect at a glance its 
wandering affections, and alone recall and fasten them upon 
his matchless perfections, or the purblind, wretched mortal, 
that is often at a loss to fathom his own spirit, that knows 
nothing as he ought to know it, and that left to himself is 
emphatically the spoiled child of vanity and self delusion ? 
Who, I repeat, is best entitled to determine ? 

Most clearly, brethren, there can be no room for hesitancy 
in the reply. Nor ought there to be any in the alacrity, with 
which obedience should be rendered. When God speaks, it is 
not for man to raise his feeble voice and puny strength in op- 
position. It is for him to bow the soul and bend the will, to 
extinguish self and pluck out the evil heart of unbelief. And 
that he has spoken, plainly and directly spoken, is as evident 
as the day, and as clear as the sun, in the heavens. On no 
other principle would Moses, in the old testament, have pre- 
pared his song of triumph, and recorded his inspired prayers 
for deliverance ; would David have indited his psalmody, and 
joined it to the spirit stirring worship of Israel. On no other 
principle would Jesus, in the new, have imbodied his form of 
prayer; would the Apostles and primitive Christians have 
treasured it up, in the greenest spot of their remembrance. 

ft 



198 



Bat all these things, as Paul says upon a different theme, i all 
these things' have ' happened unto' us 6 for ensamples ; and 
they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of 
the world are come. Wherefore, let him that thinketh he 
standeth take heed lest he fall. 5 If we have a right to depart 
from them, by substituting a novel and unpremeditated mode 
of worshipping God ; we are equally at liberty to follow our 
own fancy, in rejecting all the remaining rites and institutions 
of the gospel : we are bound by nothing but our own pleasure, 
and even this may vibrate backwards and forwards, as policy 
serves, and capricious humours predominate ; one while in- 
clining us to follow after, and at another to vary from, the 
example of Christ. 

But if this doctrine be false, this irresponsible state be the 
creature of our own imagination, if baptism for instance be 
binding, and the supper of the Lord binding ; so in publick 
worship must forms of prayer be construed with the same 
rigour, and exact the same obedience. The expressions, 
* repent and be baptized,' ' do this in remembrance of me,' 
are no more peremptory than, 6 when ye pray say.' 

I can neither understand nor approve the nice distinctions 
so often attempted to be drawn. There is even prevailing 
with many Christians an evident anxiety to ascertain, how 
far a person may venture to dissent from the counsels of God, 
without involving the soul in everlasting ruin. It is not meant, 
that they make this a question, under the conviction of having 
already been guilty of such dissent. But amid numerous 
conflicting opinions, they have acquired the habit of resting 
satisfied with their own, not upon the principle of its being 
clearly warranted by the scriptures ; but because, without 
troubling themselves to make a diligent and laborious investi- 
gation, they have settled the matter in their own minds, that 
if they are wrong, the deviation must be too trifling and 
unimportant to affect their future interests. 

Nothing therefore is more common, than the idea of there 
being different routes to heaven, Nothing is deemed more 



199 



uncharitable, than to insinuate, that an unhaptized adult, or a 
non-communicating adult is placed in an imminently perilous 
and critical condition : although the language of the bible is, 
* except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he cannot 
enter into the kingdom of God and again, 6 except ye eat 
the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood ye have no 
life in you. 3 

But for my own part, brethren, I am decidedly opposed to 
this summary species of casuistry, this unscriptural method of 
disposing of cases of conscience, and of opening several doors 
and avenues to heaven ; when there is but one strait gate and 
one narrow way. They may accord with the divinity of the 
times ; but they do not accord with the divinity of the bible, 
and therefore they are not to my mind : therefore although my 
own judgment makes every allowance for modal errours in 
others, and my convictions are, that many of the unbaptized 
and non-communicating will hereafter be found among the 
saints of the Most High ; yet would I not recommend any 
to confide in that judgment, or to trust in those convictions. 
My doctrine and advice are rather of this nature ; i hear the 
word of the Lord y ' read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest' 
the holy scriptures. They are able to make you wise unto 
salvation, and if ye will but adopt this course, neither turning 
to the right hand nor to the left, with the view of indulging 
in what are called trivial errours, neither making flesh your 
arm, nor designedly suffering your hearts to depart in one 
single particular from the Lord ; if ye will do this, ye cannot 
fail of making your calling and election sure. 

With such dispositions, such intense anxiety to be found 
blameless in all things, such pious and determined resolutions 
to stand perfect and complete in all the will of God ; if ye be 
not saved, I know not who will. There may be errours, but 
they will be errours of the judgment and not of the heart. 
And for these, no Christian, let him belong to Greek or Roman 
Church, to our own or any denomination confessing the fun- 
damental doctrines of the cross, will be liable to endure 



200 



the severity of God's displeasure. I speak with confidence, 
because I have exacted all that God exacts. I have required 
of every man to be fully and deliberately, and not capriciously 
and hastily persuaded, in his own mind. And may our heav- 
enly Father, in the multitude of his mercies, bring all these 
things to pass, with us his dependant creatures ; may we 
truly love and honour, and rightly worship and serve him ; 
may our heads be wise, our hearts pure, our consciences 
without offence, and our immortal souls duly prepared to 
enter into the embraces of his everlasting love ; and to Him, 
with the Son and Holy Ghost, three persons and one God, 
shall be ascribed all praise, and glory, and dominion, and 
power, world without end. Amen. 



sermon XIII. 

isaiah lxii. 1. 

For Ziovls sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's 
sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth 
as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that 
burneth. 

In the remarks hitherto made upon the subject of publick 
forms of prayer, I have almost exclusively confined myself to 
their vindication upon the ground of authority. I have shown 
you, what the scriptures have said, what prophets and Apostles, 
with Christ our Saviour have practised, what primitive Chris- 
tians and their successors to the sixteenth century were unan- 
imous in adopting, with all the ardour of sincere devotion, 
and all the obedience of triumphant faith. My own opinion 
is, that in all such cases, we are to submit our own judgment 
unreservedly to the clear intimations of the sacred volume. 



201 



We are to exercise our reason in searching them out, but 
having made the discovery, reason must bow with reverence 
to the teachings of the Holy Spirit, No improvements are to 
be suggested, no changes are to be advised or attempted. 
What was true in Christianity eighteen hundred years ago, is 
true at this moment. What n ide of worship was then best 
adapted to propitiate the mercy and favour of God, still main- 
tains the pre-eminence, and is not to be rejected in deference 
to the inventions of men, or in subserviency to the maxims of 
worldly popularity. 

1 am not for having the gospel and its institutions veered 
about to every point of the compass, just as the breath of the 
multitude inclines, and as it may be found in human appre- 
hension expedient to yield to their caprice, and harmonize 
with their perpetually varying prejudices. But what say the 
scriptures ? What examples are by them recorded for our 
instruction ? These are questions which weigh with me infin- 
itely more than the prepossessions of my fellow men. I will 
honour and respect their opinions on all other subjects, but 
when they come in contact with the words of truth and sober- 
ness, the voice of God is with me of incalculably greater value 
and authority, than the voice of the people. They may extol 
extemporaneous publick prayers. An imposing majority of 
their number, in this western world, may be decidedly in their 
favour, but so long as the bible refuses to give them the 
slightest countenance, I will prefer the Church, that orders 
her worship in accordance with the bible ; I will believe, that 
precomposed forms of prayer are far better calculated to pre- 
serve the excellency and the beauty of holiness. 

For what is the object of publick worship ? Is it to hear 
another praise the Lord ? To hear him confess, that universal 
man is guilty in the sight of heaven, and in absolute need of 
the quickening influence of converting and sustaining grace ? 
To hear him invoke the divine blessing, and confide in the 
fervency of his intercessions alone ? Is it to admire the fluency 
of his delivery, the copiousness of his rhetorick, the graceful 

17 



202 



ease and measured cadence of his periods ? If this be publick 
worship, I readily subscribe to the superiority of that system, 
which authorizes one to pray for all, and that affords him so 
admirable an opportunity to build up a reputation, for shining 
talents and eloquent appeals to God. 

With our venerable formularies, we can make no such pre- 
tensions, nor attract the eulogy of one applauding tongue. 
But if it be publick worship for all hearts and lips to praise 
and pray, to lift up the voice with one accord, and either shout 
hosannas, or implore the remissi on of unnumbered sins ; then 
must that form of sound words be greatly preferable, which 
all may understand, and in which all may cordially unite. We 
can come together, conscious of what we are about to utter, 
and depending on no one to select the language appropriate 
to the condition and feelings of the bleeding heart. There is 
no weighing/of petitions before they can be personally employ- 
ed ; no tax upon the understanding to determine whether they 
be right or wrong ; no effort of the mind to keep pace with 
the affections, in their projected flight to the throne of grace. 
On the part of the devout Christian, already have the words 
been carefully perused, and the petitions deliberately approved. 
The soul is therefore at liberty to concentrate all its powers, 
in elevating the heart to Him, who requires its liveliest devo- 
tion ; the heart, without which all our prayers are vain, and 
all our expectations of divine favour excessively idle and 
presumptuous. 

I am aware indeed of the vulgar errour, I know how gen- 
erally the opinion prevails, that unpremeditated effusions are 
alone cordial and sincere. But with what propriety, it would 
require a wiser head than mine to comprehend, whether it 
applies to the speaker or the hearer : The speaker, whose 
mind must necessarily be in some measure employed, in the 
conception of thoughts and the choice of words : The hearer, 
who before he can unite must rapidly perform five distinct 
intellectual acts. He must first hear, then understand, then 
judge, then approve, and then pray. 



[ 

203 

Whereas in forms of prayer, the affections are left free and 
unembarrassed. They are not disturbed or neutralized, by 
the simultaneous inventions and operations of the head. They 
can rise on strong, elastick wing, and play, as it were, around 
the throne of mercy. There is no such hinderance upon the 
emotions of love and gratitude, but they may be there ; none 
upon desire and admiration, but they may be riveted with in- 
tense and eager delight upon the divine perfections. Let 
men therefore indulge what fancies they please, to me it is 
evident, that if they have no heart to pray, w r ith such words 
as the Holy Ghost teaches, they can have none to lift up to 
God, with words of their own. 

Here also, brethren, it will be proper to remind you, of 
another and a very important advantage resulting from the 
use of forms of prayer. They are more likely to ensure the 
union of all hearts in publick worship. Nothing indeed can 
effect this, where there is no previous inclination or desire to 
praise and pray. But among those, who for these purposes 
appear in the courts of the Lord's house, it is not to be deni- 
ed, that a perfect knowledge of the language and sentiments, 
to be addressed to God, peculiarly promotes the harmony of 
feeling, so desirable in devotions professing to be general and 
united. 

Under such circumstances, no one has cause to fear lest 
the officiating minister should employ ill chosen words, or 
prefer improper petitions ; lest he should express himself with 
irreverent familiarity, or indulge in offensive doctrinal points, 
or even give way to personal resentments and antipathies. 
By precomposed liturgies, all these things are avoided. The 
aspirations of the devout worshipper are neither perplexed, 
nor entirely defeated. Whatever he may think of the sermon, 
however he may lament its errours and deficiences, on retiring 
to his home, he can at least please himself with these reflec- 
tions ; I have this day offered appropriate homage to the God 
that made me, and whom I am bound to serve ; I have praised 
and magnified the Lord ; I have thanked him for his nume- 



204 



rous blessings ; at his footstool, I have publickly confessed my 
sins, and acknowledged the imperfection attending my best 
services ; I have implored their pardon and forgiveness ; I 
have sought for new and more copious streams of grace ; I 
have disposed my spirit for their reception, by the excellency 
of my words, and the sincerity and earnestness, with which 
they have been pronounced. 

But when extemporary prayers are offered, if they really 
constitute publick worship, how often have the congregation 
been compelled to pray in terms, as foreign to their intentions, 
as diametrically opposed to the character of true devotion. 
How often have expressions been put in their mouths, which 
their souls have utterly loathed and abhorred. How often 
have they been made to adopt all .the strange fancies and het- 
erodox sentiments of some wild enthusiast, craving of God, as 
blessings, what they would prefer to deprecate, as curses. 
How often been obliged to yield a publick assent to all the 
enmities of their leader, and to be dragged before the throne 
of love, using prayers imbittered by malice, and defiled with 
imprecations. How often been represented through one organ 
of devotion soliciting, or returning thanks for, the precise 
gifts, from which another is soon destined to make them im- 
plore deliverance. 

Yes, brethren, these are incidents by no means uncommon, 
particularly in seasons of strong excitement, whether religious 
or political. Ministers are men of like passions with your- 
selves, and when left to their own discretion, out of the abun- 
dance of the heart, the mouth will speak, causing the hearer, 
in the house of God, to appear before him, thinking as they 
think, and praying as they pray. So far from these remarks 
being the creation of fancy, repeatedly have I heard the Chris- 
tian denouncing the prayer of his pastor ; at one time lament- 
ing its impropriety, and at another shocked by its asperity. 
And all this, without imagining it to have been his own prayer, 
the prayer which he countenanced by his presence, and in 
which he publickly professed to unite, by rising up in the 



205 



attitude of devotion. But let me tell him, it either was his 
own. and that of the congregation, who ostensibly gave it their 
assent, or else the principal object for which they were assem- 
bled, the object of joining in the publick worship of God, was 
completely frustrated. And is that mode of conducting the 
service to be preferred by believers in Christ, which exposes 
them to this predicament ; which makes them for the time 
passive instruments in the mouth of one man ; and to the eye 
at least fervently engaged in petitions, which from their very 
souls they detest ? 

Not such were the prayers, which the Apostles and primi- 
tive Christians used with one accord, Xo such obstacles 
impeded the lifting up of their united voices, and wherever 
they do exist, wherever the fault, instead of being chargeable 
to the heart, is to be attributed to the unwarrantable colloca- 
tion of words and ideas, then does publick worship in that 
instance become a solemn farce, a presumptuous trifling with 
Almighty God ; with Him, who requires us not to be rash with 
our mouths, nor hasty in uttering any thing before him. And 
yet, we are not afraid of regularly placing ourselves in a situ- 
ation, where we are liable to be rash with the mouth, and 
hasty with the heart of another, over whom we have no con- 
trol, and whose most glaring extravagancies are sanctioned 
by our seeming acquiescence. 

I know not, brethren, how these things may affect your 
minds ; but of this I am sure, that while our forms of worship 
are perfectly pure and unobjectionable, and nothing is demand- 
ed to make them acceptable unto God, but a true state of 
the heart and its affections ; it is beyond all doubt, that the 
pious and godly among our dissenting brethren are frequently 
made to pray, as opposite to their real intentions as light is 
opposite to darkness ; made to prefer petitions at different 
times, flagrantly inconsistent the one with the other, petitions 
which no finite being could possibly reconcile with sincere 
devotion, and which the Infinite alone has wisdom sufficient 



17* 



206 



to separate, and either accept or reject, as they would have 
them accepted or rejected. 

And here I am naturally led, by the subject, to advert to a 
consideration rarely or never permitted to occupy the minds 
of our fellow Christians. They can declaim with wonderful 
facility against our forms of prayer, and, however compelled 
to acknowledge the excellency of their spirit, can loudly con- 
demn the supposed corruption, which must attend upon their 
practice ; but at the same time, how lamentably ignorant, do 
they appear to be, that if their objections and reproaches are 
just, they themselves are in a tenfold greater degree the sub- 
jects of corruption. For when you come to analyze their 
prayers, what are they in reality but forms ? With the speaker 
they may be unpremeditated, and conceived at the moment ; 
but what have the congregation to do with them, before they 
escape his lips ? What part of them is to be imputed to their 
immediate conceptions ? They cannot speak with his mouth, 
much less can they in a state of silence transfer their thoughts 
to his mind. And the consequence is, that, so far as they are 
concerned, a form is imposed upon their observance, from 
which there is no appeal, and with which they must pray, or 
else entirely refrain from their incumbent duty. 

If there be any errour in this statement, 1 have not the ca- 
pacity to detect it. In order for the prayers of any assembly 
to be truly extemporaneous, they must, necessarily spring up 
in the mind, and be uttered by the voice, of each individual 
worshipper. Prayers, composed of words that are spoken, 
are no less forms to such as use them after their delivery, than 
are prayers previously drawn up and committed to *he press ; 
while the disadvantages attending them are infinitely greater 
than those imagined to exist with our own. There is no time 
allowed to judge of them with deliberation and care, no time 
to detect their slight, and none to object to their weighty 
errours. But precisely as spoken are they prescribed upon 
all who hear. The very men, who would not sign an impor- 
tant publick address to an earthly ruler, without carefully pe- 



207 



rusing its contents,have no conscientious scruples in permitting 
themselves to be included, in an equally publick and far more 
important address to the sovereign Ruler of heaven and earth, 
without being apprized of a single sentence designed to be 
employed. 

Can this be right ? Are they, who follow such sudden, 
evanescent, and often ungracious forms, justified in turning to 
ridicule, and proclaiming as corrupt, formularies of devotion 
that have stood the test of ages, and commanded the admira- 
tion of the world ? Are they moreover to be branded as 
formalists, who come into the dread presence of God with a 
clear understanding of every word they are about to utter ; 
who have cautiously examined every petition, and been able 
to discover nothing but what their heads approve, and their 
hearts are desirous to adopt ? I can never subscribe to such 
sentiments. However popular, they savour too much of the 
wisdom of this world, and are in no little danger of being 
regarded as foolishness with God. Others m ay worship him 
with forms of which they have no knowledge ; but for me I 
will adhere to those which are as familiar to my mind, as is 
the nature of the spiritual wants, they were intended to 
supply. 

Nor, in arriving at this determination, have I overlooked 
another, and a very material reason. Precomposed forms of 
prayer harmonize with precomposed forms of praise. Both 
were used in the Jewish temple and synagogue, and in addition 
to what has been elsewhere suggested, we may be confident, 
that both were directed to be transferred to the Christian 
Church from the well known declaration of Paul, 6 I will 
pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding 
also. I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the 
understanding also.' A declaration, that clearly ascertains 
the two prominent qualifications of publick prayer and praise. 
The first, that they must come warm from the heart, and the 
second, that they must be clothed with words, upon which the 
mind has been enabled to exercise its judgment. 



208 



No difference whatever between the two kinds of devotion 
has been intimated by the Apostles. The expressions, appli- 
ed to the one, are as emphatically applied to the other. And 
are we obliged to use forms in singing the high praises of our 
God? Is this of invincible necessity, inasmuch as the Spirit 
refuses the gift of extemporaneous metre ? And do our 
opponents admit in principle and in practice, that it is far 
from impossible to conduct this part of divine worship in an 
acceptable manner, notwithstanding its precomposed charac- 
ter ? How extremely preposterous to make a distinction 
where Paul hath made none. How strangely inconsistent to 
cavil at written forms of prayer, when they profess to be al- 
most divinely inspired, as with prepared hymns, they are found 
combining their voices in melodious praise. Surely if God 
loathes a form in the one case, he must loathe it in the oth- 
er. On the contrary, if he has made it absolutely indispensable 
in singing, he cannot but prefer it in praying, with the spirit. 
I can perceive no one plausible ground for the variance, 
and am constrained to believe, that were it practicable for a 
congregation to sing extempore, we should soon find, that the 
spiritual songs already composed would be discarded by the 
various sectaries with disgust, and condemned as imposing 
too great a restraint upon a free spirit, and as fit only to be 
recited by the lukewarm and indifferent. 

Such we know to be the language unhesitatingly applied to 
our prayers, and it would be the same with our psalms and 
hymns. They only escape because their nature is incorrigible ; 
they will not endure the metamorphosis, which has been fas- 
tened upon the kindred office of devotion ; and therefore if the 
example of Paul is rejected in prayer, he is from necessity, it 
is to be fearad, rather than choice, permitted to be imitated 
in singing, with the spirit, and with the understanding. 

Recollect also, that our fellow Christians can readily tune 
their voices with their hearts to sing repeatedly the same 
devotional hymn. They do not on this account imagine it to 
be the less pleasing to the divine ear, nor do they rack their 



209 



inventions to come before him with an ever varied song of 
praise. But the moment their attention is turned to prayer, 
then indeed is the same stated form most violently assailed, 
then does it become intolerably lifeless and dull to pray, 
sabbath after sabbath, with no other change than that supplied 
by a few collects, adapted to the course of the ecclesiastical 
year. 

I cannot learn that the disciples of Christ were thus griev- 
ously offended, when directed by him to lift up their hearts, 
day by day, to their Father in heaven, according to a certain 
form, although that form was extremely comprehensive and 
brief. But in the opinion of many, the favour of the Almighty 
at this period materially depends upon the dexterity, with 
which it can be invoked with ever new and changing prayers. 
No matter if the spiritual necessities of the people are always 
the same. No matter if God has declared, that he is apprized 
of them, before they are sought to be relieved: still our 
devotions must be mutable, or they can never avail with Him, 
who is immutable ; still there is such a wide distinction be- 
tween hymns and prayers, that while the former may be 
successfully repeated every day of our lives, the repetition of 
the latter is offensive and odious ; they must be new every 
morning. 

And here I must confess to you, that if the immaculate 
Jehovah were precisely such a being as is described, so easily 
caught by the rhetorick of words, and pleased with novelty, it 
would indeed ensure our condemnation, in the day of judg- 
ment, should we persist in our established mode of worship. 
Far better would it be to discard it, at the instance of our 
wiser brethren, and conform to their standard, although it 
were even more variable than the wind. Only, we should 
seek to improve it, by constantly changing our hymns, as well 
as our prayers. 

But then the misfortune is, that they have no arguments to 
convince our understanding, and no authority with which to 
control our judgment ; none from reason, and none from 



210 



scripture. Our God is not as they would represent him. He 
requires truth in the inward parts, and instead of laboured 
changes in the expression of prayer, he demands familiarity 
with prayer itself. What may gratify the hearer, in extem- 
poraneous addresses, is by no means certain of gratifying 
him. Our fancies may be amused, and our admiration of the 
speaker's talents highly wrought ; but heartfelt devotion is 
with God the standard of excellence, and the measure of his 
grace. Give me this, and I am content with our incompara- 
ble liturgy ; I will not despair of being finally accepted of 
our Father in heaven, owing to the absence of variable words, 
and unpremeditated thoughts. 

Neither am I to be deterred from using it, in virtue of 
another formidable objection, which relates to the responses 
made by our congregations ; responses, that are not only freely 
condemned with the residue of the worship, but are particu- 
larly implicated as obvious violations of the inspired command, 
6 when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do : 
for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.' 
Since you must allow me to ask, if penitential expressions, 
extracted with reverence from the scriptures, can under any 
circumstances of sincere devotion be justly considered vain ? 
Is it not rather the unmeaning and unmeasured employment 
of Lord, Lord ? Is it not rather long and tedious prayer, 
ever reiterating the same idea in different words, and perhaps 
preaching to the Father of lights the knowledge of his own 
perfections ? 

Taking the Saviour for our guide, you have only to accom- 
pany him to the garden of Gethsemane, and you may there 
behold him fallen upon his face, and three several times re- 
peating the well known prayer, 6 O my Father, if it be possi- 
ble, let this cup pass from me : nevertheless, not as I will, but 
as thou wilt.' And then wdien the multitude were offended 
at the continued importunity of blind Bartimeus ; when 6 many 
charged him that he should hold his peace : but he cried the 
more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me;' 



211 

this blessed Being did not reprove him for using vain repeti- 
tions. It did not once occur to the Saviour of sinners, that 
he had expressed himself in language, either unsuited to the 
occasion, or such as it would be reprehensible to adopt in 
future times, when the broken and contrite heart would plead 
with its Maker, and avail itself of the riches of his grace. He 
rather bestowed unqualified approbation upon his conduct, he 
relieved him of his malady, and spoke the words of peace and 
comfort to his troubled spirit. 

And so with the condemned responses in the service of the 
Church ; let us only prefer them with the spirit, and with the 
understanding ; iel us only appear before God weeping, bear- 
ing precious seed, and we shall come again rejoicing, whether 
we use the prayer of the gospel, 4 Jesus, Master, have mercy 
on us :' or the equally appropriate supplications of the litany, 
4 good Lord, deliver us ;' and again, 4 we beseech thee to hear 
us, good Lord. 5 The two exclamations being admirably suit- 
ed to humbling convictions of guilt, and to that now melan- 
choly depravity of our moral powers, which assimilates our 
race to all that is poor, and miserable, and blind, and naked. 
We may easily construct sentences with a more beautiful 
dress, and conveying a more melodious sound ; but there are 
none, excepting the petitions contained in the prayer of our 
Lord, better calculated to arrest the attention of heaven, and 
to draw down upon our souls the mercy of Him, whose favour 
is life, and whose loving kindness is better than the life itself. 

All the views I am capable of embracing, of our Saviour's 
intercourse with his disciples, are decidedly in unison with 
our forms of devotion. You have heard, that he never prayed 
with them extemporaneously. You have heard thrt he taught 
them how to pray. And why these remarkable variations 
from the practice of many of our modern evangelists ? Why, 
when private devotion is inculcated, does he say to bis disci- 
ples individually, 4 tiiof, when thou prayest, ent^r into thy 
closet ; and when thou jjast shut thy door, pray to thy Father 
which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall 



212 



reward thee openly V But when that which is publick, < if 
two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that 
they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which 
is in heaven For where two or three are gathered together 
in my name, there am I in the midst of them V From these 
scriptures, corroborated by others already adduced, I should 
think that the prayer uttered by one man ought always to be 
private, and not in the presence of his fellow men, intent upon 
catching the words of his mouth, although it were for the 
purpose of making those words their own. I should think 
that prayers in publick, where two or three, and of course a 
larger number, are gathered together, ought always to be 
agreed upon beforehand, by a mutual understanding of what 
was to be asked, either committed to memory or to paper. 
Such are the obvious inferences, and since there is nothing 
contradictory throughout the new testament, I am bold to 
affirm, that they are fairly and legitimately drawn. 

But still the question recurs, Why these remarkable varia- 
tions from the practice of many of our modern evangelists ? I 
have already assigned several reasons, and am disposed to 
advance another, founded upon this admonition of Christ, 
* learn of me ; for I am meek and lowly in heart : and ye shall 
find rest unto your souls.' If daily experience and observation 
have ever instructed the world in any one truth more than 
another, it is this ; the wonderful tendency of extemporaneous 
prayers to make men spiritually proud, boastful, and unchar- 
itable. Numerous exceptions undoubtedly exist, and I rejoice 
that they do. I have no such diabolical feelings, as to regret, 
that persons are trained up for heaven, in a different commun- 
ion from that, to which I am so strongly attached. I love to 
contemplate and admire ; I should be glad to be enabled, from 
on high, to rival the now sainted virtues of Doddridge, Watts, 
and a host of other worthies long since fallen asleep in Jesus. 
But as a general rule, it ever has been, and I am apprehensive 
it ever will be found, that these prayers are followed by such 
results, and are exceedingly unfavourable to the growth of 



213 



that humility and lowliness of heart, recommended by our 
Saviour, and perhaps of all graces, the most difficult to b© 
successfully cultivated by any Christian. 

On no other principle can I account for the vast amount of 
scorn and contempt, so prodigally lavished upon precomposed 
prayers. A furious zealot once 6 declared from his pulpit^ 
that the common prayer book had damned more souls than 
the bible had saved/ Upon no other, resolve the melancholy 
fact, of there being immense numbers of professing believers, 
who roundly assert, that such as pray with a form can never 
pray with the heart ; that fluent, extemporaneous prayer is one 
of the highest gifts of the Spirit ; and that we do not practise 
it, because he is a stranger to our souls. 

God forgive them ! I will not so libel the wise and good, 
the excellent of the earth, as to pray, that these persons may 
prove egregiously mistaken in their estimate of the purest and 
holiest men, upon whom the Sun of Righteousness has risen 
with healing on his wings. The rebuke, which their prede- 
cessors received, from no less a man than the justly celebrated 
Richard Baxter, is sufficient for my purpose. These are his 
words, ' Is it not a high degree of pride to conclude, that 
almost all Christ's Churches in the world, for these thirteen 
hundred years at least, to this day, have offered such worship 
unto God as that you are obliged to avoid it ? And that almost 
all the Catholick Church on earth, this day, is below your 
communion for using forms ? And that even Calvin, and the 
presbyterians, Cartwright, Hildersham, and the old non-con- 
formists were unworthy of your communion V But this I 
must say, of these uncharitable defamers, that their conduct 
and their aspersions furnish the best commentary, upon the 
instruction given by Christ to his disciples, in relation to pri- 
vate and publick prayer. 

Be it therefore, brethren, deeply engraven upon our minds, 
and let us ever yield to it a most cheerful obedience. So, 
whatever man may say, shall we secure the approbation of our 
own consciences, and what is of still greater value and ira- 

18 



214 



portance, the approbation of our God. So, if life be spared, 
shall we yet perceive the righteousness of our Zion to go forth 
as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burneth. And 
when at length our days are numbered, and our sands are run, 
so shall we be admitted into mount Zion above, into that New 
Jerusalem, where, in the majestick presence of the High and 
Lofty One, will be everlastingly resounde.d these memorable 
foe ms of praise, 6 worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive 
power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and 
glory, and blessing and again, 6 blessing, and honour, and 
glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, 
and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever. 5 Amex. 



SERMON XIV. 

isaiah lxii. 1. 

For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's 
sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth 
as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that 
burneth. 

As the frequent recital of the text must have rendered it 
perfectly familiar to the ear, it can scarcely have escaped your 
observation, brethren, that the prophet has made an obvious 
distinction between the righteousness and the saltation of the 
Church. To the former, I have hitherto principally if not 
entirely confined my remarks. It relates to the exteriour ed- 
ifice of Zion ; to that beautiful garb, in which she has been 
arrayed, by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and 
presented as a chaste bride to his only begotten and well be- 
loved Son. * 

Having minutely examined her, in this particular ; having 



I 

215 

largely proved the scriptural character and complexion of her 
external features, that, like the king's daughter described in 
the psalms, 6 her clothing is of wrought gold I cannot but 
hope that you will consider my early pledges satisfactorily 
redeemed, and concur with me in the opinion, that in the de- 
fence of such a Church as our own, they, who minister at her 
altar, should, in the spirit of Isaiah, neither hold their peace 
nor rest, ' until the righteousness thereof go forth as bright- 
ness.' 

To the latter clause of his interesting vow, I must not 
however fail to solicit an equal share of attention, although 
the discussion will be much more partial and restricted. Often 
in the scriptures, do we meet with such expressions as these ; 
the word of salvation ; the joy of salvation. Expressions that 
are not to be construed literally, but metonymically ; salvation 
having no other connexion with the word or with joy than 
this, the word unfolds the doctrine of redemption, and there 
is joy attending the conviction of our being placed in a state 
of acceptance with God. So in the text : By the salvation 
of Zion and Jerusalem, it is not meant, that the Church is the 
efficient cause of future happiness, nor that every individual 
within its pale necessarily becomes the heir of glory and 
immortality. But the real meaning is, that divine truth is 
therein inculcated ; that the doctrines, which are according 
to godliness, accompany the bride of the Holy One ; and that 
men have only to embrace them, with a true heart in full 
assurance of faith, in order to receive the end of that faith, 
even the salvation of their souls. 

That our Church, brethren, is fully entitled to this enviable 
character, I shall endeavour to establish, with as much brevity 
as possible. Examine her doctrines, thoroughly examine, 
and give to them the unhesitating assent of the mind, the un- 
swerving obedience of the heart ; and there is not one of you, 
but shall have ample reason to rejoice, at the zeal of all those, 
her faithful ministers, who fearlessly and piously resolve, nei- 
ther to hold their peace nor rest, until the salvation thereof 
shall go forth as a lamp that burneth. 



216 



As you have already learnt, I am not ignorant of the odium, 
with which sectarian prejudice has contrived to surround her: 
How every stripling in divinity can brandish the weapons of 
calumny and detraction, imputing to her clergy and laity 
principles and practices, which they loathe and abhor. I am 
not ignorant, that she is looked upon with an evil eye by mul- 
titudes, who have no knowledge of the faith she embraces, 
and the works she is solicitous to maintain. I am not igno- 
rant, that precisely as it was said by them of old time, * Can 
there any good thing come out of Nazareth ?' So in these 
modern days the question is not only asked, Can there any 
good thing come out of a Church so formal and corrupt ? But 
the assertion is proudly and boldly hazarded, that her members 
have no saving faith, no vital religion, no warm and decided 
attachment to their God and Saviour. I am not ignorant of 
these things, nor of those answers of silent pity and compas- 
sion, which they would alone deserve, were it not that many 
of the pious and worthy are miserably deceived and led away, 
by the most foul aspersions. A consideration sufficiently pow- 
erful to prevail with me to attempt the removal of the veil 
from their eyes, and to inspire them with more just and gen- 
erous sentiments. 

With this view, be it known, that there is not one, among 
the reformed Churches, which occupies a rank, so distinguish- 
ed on the page of history ; not one, whose zeal for the inter- 
ests of the Redeemer's kingdom has been so ardent and 
persevering ; not one, to whom the world has been so much 
indebted, for the labours of love and benevolence. What 
were the original reformers in England, but Churchmen ? 
What other bodies than theirs were freely given to be burned, 
in order to satiate the vengeance of a papal queen, and bear 
the noblest testimony in favour of pure religion and undeflled, 
before God and the Father ? It is not so long since, but we 
may easily ascertain whose blood it was, that proved the seed 
of the protestant Church, in the land of our forefathers. Our 
opponents cannot rob us of the sainted names of Cranme^ 



217 



and Hooper, and Latimer, and Ridley. These are our mar- 
tyred worthies ; these, the first fruits of our reformed Zion ; 
these, the faithful and holy, who, guided by the directing hand 
of Providence, first restored her to primitive order and sim- 
plicity, and then counted not their lives dear unto them, so 
that they might finish their course with joy, and the ministry^ 
which they had received from the Lord Jesus. Tell me not 
then, with such examples before the world, such unequivocal 
demonstrations of love to Christ, and devotedness to his ser- 
vice ; tell me not, of the Church reclaimed and purified by 
them, the Church adorned by their lives, and hallowed by their 
deaths, that it affords no asylum to the broken and contrite 
spirit ; that its doctrines and worship are unfavourable to the 
progress of religion in the soul, and its members comparatively 
destitute of that warmth of attachment towards their august 
Redeemer, which is vehemently claimed by their Christian 
brethren. When it shall be seen, that a nobler army of mar- 
tyrs have laid the foundation of a human Church, and when 
it shall be proved that our own Zion has degenerated from 
the doctrines maintained, by her almost inspired reformers, it 
will then be time to boast of a purer origin, a more scriptural 
faith, and a more holy obedience. 

Nor let it cease to be remembered, that the brightest page, 
in modern ecclesiastical history, is consecrated to the glory 
and honour of the Church. 4 All scripture is' indeed i given 
by inspiration of God, 5 and is the revelation of his love and 
mercy, springing from the self devotion and sacrifice of his 
beloved Son. But wherever our mother tongue prevails ; Is 
it now i profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for 
instruction in righteousness ; that the man of God may be 
perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works ?' To the 
Church under God belongs the glory and the praise. The 
bible we read ; the bible we love, is the translation of Church- 
men. To a numerous body of our divines was committed the 
high honour and distinguished trust, of clothing the word of 
God in an English dress, of rendering it accessible to the 

18* 



218 



common people, and enabling them to judge for themselves, 
what were the true doctrines of the cross, the precepts and 
institutions of the gospel. 

And was this performed long after the reformation, in the 
reign and at the instance of the first James, a monarch perti- 
naciously attached to our episcopal system of government 
and articles of faith, and by the labours of men alike pe/suaded 
in their minds, and zealous in their affection ? Was it per- 
formed in a manner, that has justly challenged the applause 
and admiration of the world ; that has extorted the eulogiura 
of criticks, and commanded the approbation of theologians, 
for the perspicuity of its style, and the fidelity with which it 
has conveyed the sense of the original ? Was it so performed, 
as to supersede all prior, and obviate the necessity of all 
subsequent translations ; so performed, as to be still retained, 
not only by us, but by all the orthodox denominations ? Oh ! 
tell me no riiore of the little, that the Church has done for the 
prosperity of the Redeemer's kingdom, and the everlasting 
welfare of souls. This single work, had she no other to 
adorn her history, gives her a transcendent claim upon the 
gratitude and affection of the people, that now lift up their 
voice against her ; that deride her piety, and scorn her holy 
things. 

But for her, they might have been to this very hour destitute 
of an authorized version of the scriptures ; one, in which they 
could confide, as containing all the words of this life. She 
alone has supplied them. She has given them the bible, they 
both read and circulate ; and has thus been instrumental in 
training up amongst them more precious souls for the heaven- 
ly world, than all other instruments which God, in his wisdom 
and goodness, has condescended to employ. Let them think 
of this, while they look over its pages ; let them think of it, 
when they return thanks to Him, for this powerful mean of 
converting grace ; and let them cease to rail ; let them indulge 
a more charitable spirit towards the descendants of those 
highly gifted men ; descendants, that have imbibed their spirit, 



219 



and preserved alive and unimpaired the pure doctrines, insti- 
tutions, and worship of the Church, to which they were 20 
ardently attached. 

And here, brethren, you must be sensible, that the time 
Would fail me were I to enumerate the long, long list of 
worthies, who have graced her annals, and elevated her to 
the highest pinnacle of sacred fame. Where are they, that 
have excelled her divines in the true interpretation of the 
scriptures, and furnished such practical comments upon them ? 
That have composed such masterly treatises in their defence* 
and foiled all the arguments of the infidel ? That havB 
written so wisely and well upon the doctrinal truths, and 
preceptive duties of Christianity ? That have expended more 
time, and talents, and treasures, in spreading abroad the 
knowledge of God ; in founding and patronising institutions 
subservient to the interests, and conformable to the genius of 
our religion ? Far be it from me to withhold the humble 
tribute of my praise from the wise and good, who hav© 
flourished among other denominations, and contributed to en- 
lighten the world, by their mental and spiritual labours. I 
am rather disposed to love them for their w r orks' sake, and to 
cherish the memory of their learning and piety, with the pro- 
foundest esteem, 

But when the character of our Church is impugned, and 
the tendency of her principles and practice more than called 
in question ; when she is violently denounced, and the lamp 
of her salvation is sought to be extinguished ; it would be bass 
and criminal to be silent ; it would be to admit the verity of 
the foulest charges, were I not to advert to the productions of 
our theologians, and challenge all other Churches to compare 
with them, in the number and excellency of their writings* 

Go to the largest publick libraries of our opponents, and the 
candid among them will not hesitate to acknowledge, that 
with comparatively few exceptions, the standard authors and 
luminaries of the religious world, from the peerless Taylor to 
the giant mind of Horsley, were bred up in the bosom of 



220 



the Church. Go to their private collections, and from the 
folios of Scott, to the tracts of Richmond, they are principal- 
ly derived from the same source. 

And is a Church thus justified of her children, thus virtually 
admitted to have ably defended, and piously enforced the 
truth as it is in Jesus ; is she to be traduced by the pen, and 
especially by the tongue of calumny, without one effort to 
exhibit her actual character, and maintain her substantial 
claims, upon the confidence and affection, of an abused and 
misguided community ? God forbid ! Forbid it righteous 
heaven ! that so great a calamity should ever befall the vine, 
which the right hand of Christ hath planted ; which the Apos- 
tles and innumerable martyrs have watered with their blood ; 
and that only requires to be known, in order to command the 
esteem and veneration of the West. 

Next to the glory of God, the triumph of Christ, and the 
salvation of all, there is no prayer, which I more cordially 
present before the throne of grace, than the prayer, that our 
Church might be universally and thoroughly investigated ; 
that she might be subjected to the severest scrutiny ; and be 
made to pass through the most fiery ordeal. I would keep 
nothing back. I would have her fathomed to the bottom, 
and in all things rendered visible as the sun. If she cannot 
endure the refiner's fire ; if when refined as silver is refined, 
and tried as gold is tried, she does not come out pure and 
without alloy, in all the essentials and requirements of a truie 
faith, and a holy obedience ; then am I content, that her altars 
shall be trodden down, and her glory given to another ; 
another, that shall prove more trustworthy ; more closely iden- 
tified with the apostolick Church ; more scriptural in every 
thing, we are commanded to believe and obey. 

With these preparatory remarks, I proceed to the examina- 
tion of her doctrines ; those evangelical doctrines, which are 
ot the greatest moment, and upon which I have reason to 
believe, that the^ largest amount of misapprehension exists. 
These are to be gained from the received articles of her 



221 



faith. Articles, that were first published in England, by 
Edward the sixth ; that were there finally revised and estab^ 
lished, by a convocation of the clergy, in the year fifteen 
hundred and seventy one, during the reign of Elizabeth ; and 
that, after the revolution, which wrested our country from th$ 
yoke of Britain, were adopted by us, with no other alterations, 
than such as accommodated them, in a political point of view, 
to the genius of a republican government. Many of them, it 
will not be necessary to notice, either because they hav© 
already passed in review, or are devoted to subjects upon 
which we have been permitted to escape, without serious 
imputations upon our principles and professions. 

Our belief, for example, in the catholick doctrine of the 
Trinity in Unity, has never been questioned. It is solemnly 
repeated every sabbath, and the language of our first article 
is thus clear and determinate, 4 There is but one living and 
true God, everlasting, without body, parts, or passions ; of 
infinite power, wisdom, and goodness ; the Maker and Pre~ 
server of all things both visible and invisible. And in unity 
of this Godhead, there be three persons, of one substance* 
power, and eternity ; the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
Ghost.' 

Our views of the divinity and humanity of Christ are not 
impugned. 6 The Son, which is the word of the Father, 
begotten from everlasting of the Father, the very and eternal 
God, of one substance with the Father, took man's nature in 
the womb of the blessed virgin, of her substance : So that 
two whole and perfect natures, that is to say, the Godhead 
and Manhood, were joined together in one person, never to be 
divided, whereof is one Christ, very God, and very Man.' 

Our reception of the inspired volume has not been denied. 
* Holy scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation : 
So that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved 
thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should he 
believed as an article of the faith, or be thought requisite or 
necessary to salvation. In the name of the holy scripture, 



222 



we do understand those canonical books of the old and new 
testament, of whose authority was never any doubt in the 
Church.' 

We are even allowed, upon the great doctrines of the cross, 
to have expressed our belief, in terms sufficiently explicit and 
orthodox. But then we are accused of entertaining them, 
with certain mental reservations, and of harbouring in reality, 
sentiments materially unsound, and variant from the recorded 
letter. So far as personally concerned, I do not scruple to 
repel the calumny with the indignation it deserves. I do most 
sincerely and heartily subscribe to all the articles of religion 
embraced by the Church. I have no cause to make, nor 
have I any confidence in, such secret compromises with the 
conscience ; but freely and unreservedly do I believe every 
one of those articles, in their plain and literal acceptation. 
As to others, if there be an exception, in the case of any of 
our clergy in these United States, it is entirely unknown to 
me. Our accusers are better informed, and let them sub- 
stantiate their charges by proof, and not by random assertion. 

To descend to particulars ; no one doctrine of the scriptures 
is more important, or necessary to be received, than the fall 
of man from the state of primitive innocence, with the 
consequent corruption of all his moral powers, and the trans- 
mission of that corruption to his entire posterity. And what 
is clearly revealed in the scriptures, the Church as clearly 
maintains. These are her words, 6 Original sin standeth not 
in the following of Adam (as the Pelagians do vainly talk ;) 
but it is the fault and corruption of the nature of every man, 
that naturally is engendered of the offspring of Adam, where- 
by man is very far goxe from original righteousness, and is 
of his own nature , inclined to evil, so that the flesh lusteth 
always contrary to the Spirit ; and therefore in every person 
born into this world, it deserveth God's wrath and damnation. 
And this infection of nature doth remain, yea, in them that 
are regenerated ; whereby the lust of the flesh, called in 
Greek, Qyoyijua cragxog, which some do expound the wisdom, 



223 



some sensuality, some the affection, some the desire of ihe 
flesh, is not subject to the law of God. And although there 
i3 no condemnation for them that believe and are baptized ; 
yet the Apostle doth confess, that concupiscence and lust 
hath of itself the nature of sin.' 

And among our orthodox fellow Christians, who is there to 
abject to this open and undisguised avowal of what, it deeply 
concerns our fallen and guilty race to understand i Some of 
their number, I am aware, would prefer to substitute * total 
depravity,' for the expression, 6 very far gone from original 
righteousness. 5 But with what correctness, may be estimated 
from the consideration, that it would involve the infant soul, 
at its birth, in a state equally degraded and polluted with the 
spirit of the infernal himself. Whereas with these interesting 
beings, corruption is rather of a negative quality, and indicates 
the absence of ail natural holiness. Sin is in their hearts ; 
but it is dormant ; it is sleeping on a congenial couch, from 
w T hich it rises active and refreshed, as a giant from his slum- 
bers, with the first perceptions of the mind, and the earliest 
propensities of the flesh ; obtaining an ascendency, in propor- 
tion to the failure of the instituted counteracting causes, or 
the obstinacy, with which the strivings of God's Holy Spirit 
are resisted and withstood. 

To support me in these views, I have the testimony of 
common sense, assuring me, that infants can commit no actual 
trespasses ; I have the testimony of experience, convincing me, 
that sins unknown to them, and of the blackest turpitude, are 
the work of man's maturer years ; I have the testimony of 
Jesus Christ, declaring unto each of us, 6 whosoever shall not 
receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter 
therein.' All which is utterly irreconcilable with total de- 
pravity, and enough to deter me from adopting that most 
unnatural and unwarrantable phrase. 

Still however, it must not be concealed, that there is no 
inborn health in us ; that we are naturally inclined to evil ; 
and that, left to ourselves, we could only forge new links i£ 



£24 



the chain, which fastens us to the chariot wheels of sin. Who- 
ever thinks otherwise ; whoever preaches otherwise, knows 
little of himself, little of his fellow men, and still less of the 
gospel. He may amuse his hearers with beautiful delineations 
of the innocence and the dignity of their nature ; but having 
relinquished the most powerful motive for their reliance upon 
the Rock of Ages, he will be apt to inspire them with a de- 
gree of self confidence, visionary and fatal in the extreme. 
He will certainly impute falsehood to David where he says, 

* behold, I was shapen in iniquity ; and in sin did my mother 
conceive me.' He will flatly contradict the Apostle, where 
he feelingly communes with himself, 1 1 know that in me (that 
is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing : for to will is present 
with me ; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 
For the good that I would, I do not : but the evil which I 
would not, <that I do. Now, if I do that I would not, it is no 
more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then 
a eaw t , that, w r hen I would do good, sin is present with me.' 
While therefore we renounce the idea of total depravity, as 
absurdly applied to any other beings, than the devil and his 
angels, we cordially agree with the Church in the belief, that 

* man is very far gone from original righteousness, and is of 
his own nature inclined to evil, so that the flesh lusteth always 
contrary to the Spirit.' Let our adversaries assert what they 
please, upon this belief we preach, and upon this warn every 
hearer of the absolute and indispensable necessity, of a radical 
change of the heart and its affections. 

But why do we warn every hearer ? Why urge upon all 
the duty of becoming faithful, and penitent, and holy ? It is 
because we believe with the Church, that ' the offering of 
Christ once made, is that perfect redemption, propitiation, 
and satisfaction for all the sins of the whole world, both ori- 
ginal and actual ;' which she describes to be * the one oblation,' 
and avers, that 4 there is none other satisfaction for sin, but 
that alone.' It is because, discarding all metaphysical subtle- 
ties, we give the only just and natural construction to such 



225 



inspired declarations, as these, * The grace of God that bring- 
eth salvation hath appeared unto all men,' 6 As by the 
offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation ; 
even so by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon 
all men unto justification of life.' 6 The love of Christ 
constraineth us ; because we thus judge, that if one died for 
all, then were all dead.' 6 We see Jesus, w T ho was made a 
little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned 
with glory and honour ; that he by the grace of God should 
taste death for every man.' ' The Lord is not slack 
concerning his promise, as some men count slackness ; but is 
long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, 
but that all should come to repentance.' i The times of this 
ignorance God winked at ; but now commandeth all men 
every where to repent.' 6 This is good and acceptable in the 
sight of God our Saviour ; Who will have all men to be 
saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there 
is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the 
man Christ Jesus ; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to 
be testified in due time.' 

Yes, brethren, such is our creed, such the support it obtains 
from the scriptures, and although the limits I have prescribed 
to myself will not permit me to embark, in the full discussion 
of its merits, a brief statement of the opposite doctrine will 
disclose a system of faith, from which your minds must recoil 
with abhorrence, and at the same time coincide with me, in 
pronouncing it to be an outrageous libel, upon the true char- 
acter of God, and the mission of Christ. 

Contrary then to the article of our Church, which asserts, 
that this gracious Being made a 6 perfect redemption, pro- 
pitiation, and satisfaction for all the sins of the whole world, 
both original and actual ;' it is maintained as the first principle 
in the Calvinistick creed, that his atonement was partial and 

particular ; that it only embraced the sins of a portion of the 

ii * 

human race, while those of the residue of their fellow creatures 
have neither been atoned for, nor themselves placed in a 
situation, wherein it is possible to partake of the mercy of 
God. 19 



226 



In his preliminary discourse to a free translation of Zanchi- 
us, the doctrine is thus exhibited, by Toplady. 6 As God did 
not will that each individual of mankind should be saved ; so 
neither did he will that Christ should properly and immedi- 
ately die for each individual of mankind. Whence it follows 
that though the blood of Christ, from its own intrinsick dignity, 
was sufficient for the redemption of all men ; yet in conse- 
quence of his Father's appointment, he shed it intentionally, 
and therefore effectually and immediately, for the elect 
only. This is self-evident. God, as we have before proved, 
wills not the salvation of every man ; but he gave his son to 
die for them whose salvation he willed ; therefore his son did 
not die for every man. All those, for whom Christ died, are 
saved ; and the divine justice indispensably requires, that to 
them the benefits of his death should be imparted : But only 
the elect are saved ; they only partake of those benefits ; 
consequently, for them only he died and intercedes.' 

The pen almost refuses to transcribe an opinion, so dia- 
metrically at war with the scriptures, and so inconsistent with 
their proverbial invitations to all sinners to repent, to believe, 
and to obey. If the preceding texts were not sufficient, it 
is contradicted in terms by St Peter, 4 there shall be false 
teachers among you, who shall privily bring in damnable 
heresies, even denying the Lord that eought the3i, and bring 
upon themselves swift destruction.' Also by St Paul, ' de- 
stroy not him with thy meat for whom Christ died and 
again, where his remonstrance, upon the subject of meats 
offered to idols, turns upon the fact expressed in these words, 
6 through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for 
whom Christ died.' 

Nothing then can be more evident, than the final destruction 
from the presence of the Lord of many, whose sins were 
completely atoned for, by the death and sacrifice of the Lamb 
of God. And yet upon the foundation of a partial atonement, 
or particular redemption of the elect, and the elect alone, is 
built the whole theory of election and reprobation. I will 



227 



give it to you in the words of Calvin ; ' Predestination we 
call the eternal decree of God, by which he hath determined 
in himself, what he would have to become of every individual 
of mankind. For they are not all created with a similar des- 
tiny; but eternal life is foreordained for some, and eternal 
damnation for others. Every man therefore, being created 
for one or the other of these ends, we say, he is predestinated 
either to life or to death.' 

It is impossible, brethren, for any language to be easier of 
comprehension, and if true, our future destiny w 7 as unalterably 
fixed, before the worlds were made. Some of us were crea- 
ted for the express purpose of being saved, and some of us 
for the express purpose of being damned. And that I am 
not putting a false construction upon the extract from Calvin, 
whether it regards the one class or the other, will be apparent 
from the testimony borne, by several of his followers. 

In relation to the elect, and the certainty of their salvation, 
Coles, on the sovereignty of God, remarks, ' as it was not any 
loveliness in elect persons which moved God to love them at 
first, so neither shall their unlovely backslidings deprive them 
of it.' 

The celebrated preacher Rowland Hill assures us, that 
i David stood as completely justified in the everlasting right- 
eousness of Christ, at the time, when he caused Uriah to be 
murdered, and was committing adultery with his wife, as he 
was in any part of his life. For all the sins of the elect, be 
they more, or be they less, be they past, present, or to come, 
were forever done away. So that every one of these elect 
stand spotless in the sight of God.' 

The same principle is espoused by Mason, in his spiritual 
treasury, 6 Suppose a believer to be taken away in his sin, 
and hath not time to repent of it, there was that in him, that 
would have repented, and God reckons of a man according 
to that he would do,' The same author, and there are none 
more highly esteemed among the writers of his class, in an- 
other place uses expressions, yet more extraordinary, and 



228 



reprehensible ; ' Though a believer be black as hell, polluted 
with guilt, defiled with sin, yet in Christ, he is all fair without 
a spot ; free from sin, as viewed by God in Christ, fully 
reconciled to God, and standing without trespasses before 
him.- As I have not however been able to find these senti- 
ments, in the American edition of Mason, I conclude that an 
expurgation has been deemed prudent ; but they appear in 
that, published in London, by Romaine. 

But the boldest champion of antinomianism was the English 
puritan, Tobias Crisp. I cannot conceive of more detestable 
doctrine than that contained, in the following quotations. 
1 The Lord hath no more to lay to the charge of an elect person, 
yet in the height of iniquity, and in the excess of riot, and 
committing all the abominations that can be committed — I 
say even then, when an elect person runs such a course, the 
Lord hath no more to lay to that person's charge, than God 
hath to lay to the charge of a believer ; nay God hath no more 
to lay to the charge of such a person, than he hath to lay to 
the charge of a saint triumphant in glory." Such is his opin- 
ion of the unconverted elect in Christ, and now for the 
converted. i Suppose a member of Christ, a freeman of 
Christ, should happen to fall not only by a failing or slip, but 
also by a gross failing, a heavy failing, naj a scandalous falling 
into sin ; Christ making a person free, doth disannul, frustrate, 
and make void, every curse and sentence that is in the law, 
against such a transgressor ; that this member of Christ is no 
more under the curse when he hath transgressed, than he was 
before he transgressed. This I say. Christ hath conveyed 
him beyond the reach of the curse : it concerns him no more 
than if he had never transgressed. Therefore let me tell you. 
in a word, if ye be freemen of Christ, you may esteem all the 
curses of the law, as no more concerning you than the laws 
of England do concern Spain, or the laws of Turkey, an 
Englishman, with whom they have nothing to do. I do not 
&aj the law is absolutely abolished, but it is abolished in re- 
spect to the curse of it, to every person that is a freeman of 



229 



Christ. So, though such a man do sin, the law hath no more 
to say to him, than if he had not sinned. 5 

Such then, brethren, according to these men, may be the 
character of the elect of God, without in the smallest degree 
impairing their right and title to look for a new heavens and 
a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness, and no less 
strongly, decidedly, and unconditionally are the reprobate con- 
signed to everlasting perdition. 

Zanchius, the Swiss reformer, declares, that. i the reprobate 
are bound by the ordinance of God under the necessity of 
sinning and Beza his countryman, that i God hath predesti- 
nated, not only unto damnation, but also unto the causes of it, 
whomsoever he saw meet.' 

Calvin himself pronounces of this benevolent Being, and of 
his designs in relation to sinners, 4 He directs his voice to them, 
but it is that they may become more deaf ; he kindles a light 
but it is that they may be more blind ; he publishes his 
doctrine, but it is that they may be made more besotted ; he 
applies a remedy, but it is that they may not be healed.' To 
the same purport is the language of the celebrated Peter Mar- 
tyr, describing the Deity in this manner ; 4 He supplies wicked 
men with opportunities of sinning, and inclines their hearts 
thereto. He blinds, deceives, and seduces them, He, by his 
working on their hearts, bends and stirs them up to do evil.' 

Perkins, an old English divine, affirms, that 4 God hath most 
justly decreed even the wicked works of the wicked;' and 
Knox, the Scotch reformer, that 4 the wicked are not only left 
by God's suffering, but are compelled to sin by his power/ 
Even our New England divines, in sixteen hundred and eighty, 
could incorporate, in their printed confession of faith, similar 
strange and perverse declarations. 4 These angels and men, 
thus predestinated and foreordained, (some to everlasting life 
and others to everlasting death,) are particularly and unchange- 
ably designed, and their number is so certain and definite that 
it cannot be either increased or diminished.' 4 As for those 
wicked and ungodly men, whom God, as a righteous judge, for 

19* 



230 



former sins doth blind and harden ; from them, he not only 
withholdeth his grace, whereby they might have been enlight- 
ened in their understandings, and wrought upon in their 
hearts ; but sometimes also withdraweth the gifts which they 
had, and exposeth them to such objects, as their corruption 
makes occasions of sin ; and withal gives them over to their 
own lusts, the temptations of the world, and the power of satan, 
whereby it comes to pass that they harden themselves, even 
under those means, which God useth for the softening of 
others.' 

I shall conclude with Toplady, before quoted, the most re- 
nowned of all the modern advocates of Calvinism, and one of 
the few of that description, in the Church of England. ' God 
often lets the wicked go on to more ungodliness ; which he 
does negatively, by withholding that grace, which alone can 
restrain them from evil.' 4 God, occasionally, in the course 
of his providence, puts both elect and reprobate persons into 
circumstances of temptation, by which temptation, are meant 
not only those trials that are of an outward afflictive nature ; 
but those also, that are inward and spiritual : Even such as 
shall cause the persons so tempted, actually to turn aside from 
the path of duty to commit sin, and involve both themselves 
and others in evil.' 6 If between the elect and reprobate, 
there was not a great gulf fixed, so that neither can be other- 
wise than they are ; then, the will of God (which is the alone 
cause why some are chosen and others not) would be render- 
ed inefficacious, and of no effect. Nor could the justice of 
God stand, if he was to condemn the elect, for whose sins he 
has received ample satisfaction at the hand of Christ ; or if 
he was to save the reprobate, who are not interested in Christ 
as the elect are.' ' Some men w 7 ere, from all eternity, not 
only negatively excepted from a participation of Christ and 
salvation ; but positively ordained to continue in their natural 
blindness, hardness of heart, &c. and that by the just judg- 
ment of God.' ' The non-elect were predestinated, not only 
to continue in final impenitency, sin, and unbelief ; but were, 



231 



likewise, for such their sins, righteously appointed to infernal 
death hereafter.' ' The sentence of God, which rejects the 
reprobates, is so fixed and immutable, that it i3 impossible 
they should be saved, though they have performed all the 
works of the saints ; and therefore, it is not true, that those, 
who perish through their own fault, might have been saved 
through grace, if they had not ceased labouring for saving 
grace/ 

How disgusting the features, how dreadful the portrait, I 
have here felt myself compelled to exhibit from the writings 
of men, with one or two exceptions, the principal leaders and 
promoters in the ranks of schism. They remind me of the 
observation of Erasmus, the most learned of those, who flour- 
ished at the period of the reformation ; ' This new gospel, 
founded upon the doctrine of absolute decrees, has produced 
a new generation of obstinate, impudent, hypocritical people, 
who are revilers, liars, deceivers ; and who do not agree among 
themselves, and are very uneasy to others : who are seditious, 
furious, given to cavilling ; and with whom I am so much 
dissatisfied, that if I knew any town where none of them were, 
I would go thither, and choose to live in it.' They remind 
me of what was long since declared, by bishop Seabury of our 
own American Church, when exposing the prominent errour 
of Calvinism ; 6 All objects are said to appear yellow to the 
jaundiced eye. Predestination is to the mind what the jaun- 
dice is to the body. The whole bible appears tinctured with 
a sickly, yellow hue, when the predestinarian looks into it, 
especially if he be of a morose and vindictive temper, as most 
commonly is the case. To see God consigning the greater 
part of mankind to eternal misery, in consequence of his own 
arbitrary decree, just to show that he can do it, and will do 
it — for the glory of his justice, as they call it — seems to be 
congenial and grateful to his heart : and, in truth, the conse- 
quences of this doctrine, carried to its full extent, however the 
abetters of it may not own or see them, represent Almighty 
God, the God of goodness and love, to whom be glory for ever, 



232 



in a more unamiable light than it is possible for human wit to 

represent the devil.' 

I feel myself therefore, brethren, fully authorized to repeat, 
that you cannot but coincide with me, in pronouncing it to be 
an outrageous libel upon the true character of God, and the 
mission of Christ. The naked recital of such a system is all 
that is requisite to ensure its rejection, wherever the mind is 
unprejudiced, and reason is suffered calmly and dispassionately 
to investigate the oracles of truth. They afford it no counte- 
nance, and the seventeenth article of the Church will hereafter 
be found to be equally free from the imputation. 

Is it then for refusing to adopt a theory so grossly absurd, 
and even detestable, when expounded by its most zealous par- 
tisans ? Is it for this, that the great body of our clergy are 
accused of lukewarmness in the cause of their Redeemer, if 
a Redeemer' they have I Long may they give occasion to 
endure the reproach. Long may they present our heavenly 
Father and the Son of his love, in a more inviting and encour- 
aging aspect to the minds and consciences of sinners. Xot 
one of you, brethren, shall hereafter perish, through any arbi- 
trary, irrespective, and irreversible decree ; not one of you, 
because your eternal life was never purchased by a Saviour's 
all-atoning blood. But if ye perish, the fault will be your 
own ; the awful catastrophe will be owing to your own per- 
verse refusal to believe and obey the words of eternal life. 

And may these considerations stimulate you to new and 
more vigorous efforts to make your calling and election sure. 
If ye will but permit your faith to be active, your repentance 
to be genuine, and your obedience perfect, not all the prepos- 
terous opinions of men will avail to exclude you, from the 
mansions of everlasting felicity. But by his Spirit working 
in due season, the very God of peace will sanctify you wholly, 
he will lift up the light of his reconciled countenance upon 
you, and finally, for Christ's sake, admit you into the presence 
of his exceeding glory. A:>ie>\ 



233 



SERMON XV. 

ISAIAH lxii. 1. 

For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem 
sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth 
as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp thai 
burnetii. 

There are few topicks in divinity less understood than that 
of predestination. It is owing to the strange conceits and 
metaphysical species of dialecticks, which have usurped the 
name, and transformed the pure, intelligible doctrine of the 
scriptures into a hideous monster of deformity, odious to the 
eye, and revolting to the mind and heart. I gave you some 
specimens of this character upon the recent sabbath, and am 
confident, that no rational being, if left to the free and unre- 
strained exercise of his own faculties and judgment, would 
permit himself to be deluded, by a system so derogatory to the 
goodness, and subversive of the justice of the Deity. 

To make men for the sole object of damning them everlast- 
ingly ! To impute such a motive to the benignant Being, who 
presides over the universe, and whose tender mercies are rep- 
resented to be over all his works ! The act itself is shocking 
to our moral feelings, and the imputation, if it had never been 
hazarded by men of piety and learning ; if it had now for the 
first time been submitted to our examination, would be uni- 
versally denounced, as impious and even blasphemous to the 
last degree. It would be considered a new edition of those 
mythological crudities, which invested the heathen gods and 
goddesses, with the most ferocious and vindictive passions ; 
which made the earth, the beleaguered object of their tyranny, 
and the bodies and souls of men, the hapless victims of their 
unrelenting malice. 



234 



Never would it be tolerated, that our heavenly Father was 
capable of forming and publishing a decree, so despotick and 
unjust, so repugnant to the perfections, with which the bible 
delights to encircle him, and so hostile to the best and dearest 
interests of a large proportion of our race. But the true 
scriptural doctrine would be unanimously embraced. Predes- 
tination would be presented and received in its more attract- 
ive, and only authentick form. That it does exist in the sacred 
volume cannot be seriously denied. But then, as dissimilar 
to the refined absurdities of Calvin, as light is dissimilar to 
darkness, and truth to falsehood. 

For what if God is there said to have predetermined the 
fate of every man ? It is not with reference to persons, but 
to their characters. It is not by a capricious creation or se- 
lection of a certain number to be saved, and a certain number 
to be damned. But from everlasting the decree hath gone 
forth ; from everlasting to everlasting, it hath been ordained, 
that the righteous shall hereafter be supremely blessed, and 
the unrighteous supremely miserable. And is not this mate- 
rially variant from determining as to the persons, who shall 
be irresistibly constrained to become the one and the other ? 

When human laws describe offences, and for their prevention 
impose an adequate penalty to be visited on the guilty : Does 
this compel you to commit them ? Are any selected from the 
mass of their fellow citizens, and by the statutes of the land 
invincibly coerced to the perpetration of robbery, of arson, of 
murder ? Under such circumstances, I am sure you would 
find none to condemn them, as criminals ; no judge or jury to 
pronounce them justly amenable to the severity of penal inflic- 
tions. They must rather have first occupied the attitude of 
free agents. Obedience and disobedience, with the respective 
consequences, must have been fairly set before them, and then, 
if they voluntarily transgress, the laws, enacted for the pun- 
ishment of all transgressors, would have personal application 
to each individual robber, incendiary, or murderer. 

And precisely thus with the decrees of God : He requires 



235 



of all men to be righteous. He tells them in what righteous- 
ness consists. He promises his divine assistance in enabling 
them to obtain it ; and, as an inducement to ardent and per- 
severing exertions on their part, he has decreed, in case of 
cheerful obedience, to give them the blessing of life eternal. 
He also demands of them to abstain from all unrighteousness. 
He explains its nature. He assures them of his inclination 
to bestow upon them power to triumph over it ; and, as a 
motive to operate upon their minds and consciences, he has 
decreed, in case of disobedience, to consign them over to the 
vengeance of eternal fire. 

Yes. brethren, these are the decrees or laws of God ; the 
eternal purposes he has entertained and proclaimed, in relation 
to the present conduct and future destiny of all mankind. 
They admit of free agency. They constitute a fair, undisguis- 
ed, and impartial system of jurisprudence. They convince 
us, that instead of being controlled, by a secret and unavoida- 
ble fatality, to become either righteous or unrighteous, we are 
to a certain extent the arbiters of our own condition, both in 
time and in eternity. Religion and irreligion are at our own 
option. If we embrace the former, it will be the life ; if the 
latter, it will be the death, of our souls. There is no such 
thing as original celestial love, for the person of one man, and 
hatred, for that of another. Character is here every thing. 

' J O 

Righteousness and unrighteousness, obedience and disobedi- 
ence, these alone are the objects of the divine decrees. After 
what Christ has achieved, in reconciling the world to God, 
through these are the faithful to be rewarded, and the unfaith- 
ful punished, at the judgment of the great day. 

If a different doctrine from this is to be found; in our seven- 
teenth article, I have not the sagacity to detect it. Not one 
syllable does it contain of individual reprobation or pretention, 
although inseparably connected with unconditional election, 
in the opinion of Calvin and his followers. 1 Predestination 
to life is ' indeed declared to be, ' the everlasting purpose of 
God, whereby (before the foundations of the world were laid) 



236 



he hath constantly decreed, by his counsel, secret to us, to 
deliver from curse and damnation, those whom he hath chosen 
in Christ out of mankind, and to bring them by Christ to 
everlasting salvation, as vessels made to honour.' 

But here is nothing discrepant from my sentiments ; nothing 
that the clergy of the Church are indisposed to maintain. 
Never do they deny, that 6 the godly consideration of predes- 
tination, and our election in Christ, is fall of sweet, pleasant, 
and unspeakable comfort to godly persons, and such as feel in 
themselves the working of the Spirit of Christ, mortifying the 
works of the flesh and their earthly members, and drawing up 
their mind to high and heavenly things.' That godly consid- 
eration this article concisely asserts, and no Christians in their 
senses will object to the predestination, which, founded upon 
the word of righteousness, entirely harmonizes with all their 
hopes and expectations, 6 as well because it doth greatly estab- 
lish and confirm their faith of eternal salvation, to be enjoyed 
through Christ, as because it doth fervently kindle their love 
towards Cod Which indeed assures them of their final ac- 
ceptance with him, not from any capricious exercise of omnip- 
otent power, but from the fact of their having fully and cor- 
dially closed with the overtures made them through Christ. 
• V\ herefore,' as*the article before recites of those converted 
by his saving grace, < wherefore they, which be endued with 
so excellent a benefit of Cod, be called according to God's 
purpose by his Spirit working in due season : they through 
grace obey the calling : they be justified freely : they be made 
sons of God by adoption : they be made like the image of his 
only begotten Son Jesus Christ : they walk religiously in good 
works : and at length by God's mercy they attain to everlast- 
ing felicity.' 

And let me tell you, brethren, that every man, placed within 
the sound of the gospel, is 6 called according to God's purpose 
working in due season ;' although it is but too evident, that 
many refuse to obey. Whoever does, the article pronounces 
predestined to eternal life, and I ask for no more consoling 



237 



doctrine. I perceive that the predestination of the bible, and 
the predestination of the Church are in perfect concord. So 
little sympathy has she for the monstrous absurdity of making 
our Father in heaven create immortal souls, merely to evince 
his power and determination to punish them everlastingly from 
his presence, as to declare, that ' for curious and carnal per- 
sons, lacking the Spirit of Christ, to have continually before 
their eyes the sentence of God's predestination, is a most dan- 
gerous downfall, whereby the devil doth thrust them either 
into desperation, or into wretchlessness of most unclean living, 
no less perilous than desperation.' So clearly does she coin- 
cide with the views I am desirous to inculcate, as to affirm, 
that 4 we must receive God's promises in such wise as they be 
generally set forth to us in holy scripture : And in our doings, 
that will of God is to be followed, which we have expressly 
declared unto us in the word of God.' 

All which is manifestly inconsistent with decrees of election 
and reprobation, ordained without foresight of obedience on 
the one hand, or of disobedience on the other. Since those 
promises are directed to all who believe and repent, and the 
divine Being is 6 not willing that any should perish, but that 
all should come to repentance.' The followers of Calvin may 
therefore continue to determine, that ' the decrees were not 
formed in consequence of any foresight of sin or holiness 
in the reprobate or elect :' Our Zion will not so determine, 
will not so positively circumscribe the goodness and mercy 
of God, as to defeat the voluntary co-operation of man in the 
work of his salvation, and to render numbers of our race in- 
capable of acquiring that sincere faith and holy obedience, 
which bring the Christian within the covenant of grace, and 
the predestination of the godly to life eternal. She advances 
a doctrine more analagous to common sense, more respectful 
to the attributes of the Deitv, more illustrative of the extent 
of his benevolence, and more conformable to what the Apostle 
Peter proclaimed to the strangers, enumerated in his first 
epistle, that they were i Elect according to the foreknowl- 

20 



238 



edge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, 
unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus.' 

Here however I am told, that the foreknowledge of the 
Deity is in effect precisely the same with his predestination ; 
in other words, that what he foreknows must as certainly come 
to pass, as what he predestines. But allow r me to assure you, 
that no opinion can be more unfounded. It entirely destroys 
the necessity of a superintending Providence, interfering with 
and regulating the affairs of men ; it engages us in a vain and 
fallacious service, when w T e return thanks to God, for having 
saved our lives from destruction, in the hour of impending 
danger ; and it contradicts a very plain and explicit narrative 
recorded in the twenty third chapter of the first book of Sam- 
uel. Keilah, a town besieged by the Philistines, was rescued 
from their grasp, by David acting under the immediate direc- 
tion of God. 6 And it was told Saul that David was come to 
Keilah. And Saul said, God hath delivered him into mine 
hand ; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath 
gates and bars. And Saul called all the people together to 
war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. 
And David knew that Saul secretly practised mischief against 
him : and he said to Abiathar the priest, bring hither the 
ephod. Then said David, O Lord God of Israel, thy servant 
hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to 
destroy the city for my sake. Will the men of Keilah deliver 
me up into his hand ? Will Saul come down as thy servant 
hath heard ? O Lord God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy 
servant. And the Lord said, he wilt, come down. Then 
said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men 
into the hand of Saul ? And the Lord said, they will de- 
liver thee up. Then David and his men, which were about 
six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went 
whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul, that 
David was escaped from Keilah ; and he forbare to go 
forth.' 

Here then, you perceive a wide distinction between the 



239 



foreknowledge and the predestination of events. To the inqui- 
ries of David, concerning Saul and the people of Keilah, the 
answers of God were positive and direct, 6 he will comb 
down. ' — 6 they will deliver thee up.' And will you un- 
dertake to assert, that they proceeded not from an attribute 
purely divine ? Will you deny, that the prescience of God, 
enabled him to reveal the intended enterprise of Saul, and the 
course, which would be pursued by the ungrateful inhabitants, 
provided their town was invested ? An enterprise directed 
against Keilah, and a course fatal to the liberty and the life 
of David. 

Surely, brethren, unless you are disposed to think that the 
immaculate Jehovah may sometimes trifle with his dependant 
creatures, may sometimes delight to render them the miserable 
dupes of a capricious and unfounded revelation, you must 
believe, that these replies had their foundation in the fore- 
knowledge of God, and at the same time deem it totally in- 
consistent with his veracity to communicate as forthcoming 
events, what he had previously determined from all eternity 
never should transpire. Nor can you fail to remark in this 
gracious dispensation, such an interposing providence, as pen- 
etrates and overrules the designs of men, in pursuance of a 
settled system of moral government ; and such a display of 
divine foresight, as had not the remotest connexion with 
pre-existing decrees, because the very circumstances un- 
folded never occurred : Saul forbore to go forth, and the men 
of Keilah did not betray their guest and deliverer, because he 
availed himself of the disclosures of the Deity to frustrate the 
malignity of his open, and the treachery of his secret, foes. 

What then becomes of the supposed identity of foreknowl- 
edge, with predestination ? That which is decreed by God 
must necessarily come to pass. What becomes of another 
doctrine of the same school, insisting, that God only fore- 
knows, because he has previously predestined ? A relation 
of facts is here recorded absolutely incompatible with such 
priority. In vain does Toplady contend, < his decrees are the 



240 



foundation of his prescience.' For were it true, how could 
the Almighty have declared without any reservation whatever, 

6 HE WILL COME DOWN;' ' THEY WILL DELIVER THEE UP;' 

when he must certainly have known, in virtue of his own 
eternal decree, that such incidents could not possibly en- 
sue ? But if foresight in him is not the consequent of preor- 
dination ; if mankind are indeed left to act in a state of pro- 
bation, according to impressions made upon their minds by 
external objects, and in compliance with their own volition ; 
then can we easily comprehend, that the Omniscient, foresee- 
ing the designs of David's enemies, and applied to in the way 
he had himself prescribed, might providentially interfere to 
advise him of his danger, revealing what would inevitably 
follow, if he remained in Keilah, and leaving it to his own 
discretion to adopt such measures as the exigency required, 
Hence the safety of the future monarch of Israel, and hence 
this plain, unvarnished scripture, that, more valuable than vol- 
umes of metaphysical disquisitions, clearly falsifies the ground- 
work of a chimerical theory, in language too intelligible to 
be misunderstood, too obvious to be easily tortured in subser- 
viency to that fatal necessity, which first fetters its victim with 
an irreversible destiny, and then condemns him for transgres- 
sions, he could not avoid. 

Nor can the doctrine of absolute unconditional predestina- 
tion be fairly deduced, from any part of the sacred volume. 
It is true, that many passages have been plausibly enlisted in 
its support ; but as far the larger number of able divines ap- 
prehend, without any adequate reason for the interpretation 
given them. Thus, for example, the acknowledgment, ' Jacob 
have I loved, but Esau have I hated,' is often adduced in 
favour of arbitrary election and reprobation, when a candid 
examination ought to convince us, that this discrimination 
related exclusively to the line of conveyance, through which 
the promised seed was to descend. In which sense, Jacob 
was selected to the prejudice of Esau, and in the emphatick 
language of the scriptures, it is well said, that the one was 



241 



loved and the other hated. So also Abraham was loved in 
preference to Nahor, Isaac to Ishmael, Judah to Reuben, and 
so on to the virgin Mary, who was loved, and all other women 
hated, inasmuch as she was chosen to be the mother of Christ, 
and they were all superseded. A construction, that is amply 
confirmed, by the observation of our Saviour to his followers, 
' if any man come to me and hate not his father, and mother, 
and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his 
own life also, he cannot be my disciple. 5 For if the explan- 
ation, which has been given, to the expression, ' Esau have I 
hated,' be not correct, the authority of Jesus may be drawn 
to vindicate the basest, vilest feelings, the human heart is ca- 
pable of entertaining, and this in direct contradiction to the 
well known averment, ' whosoever hateth his brother is a 
murderer ;' and to various other passages inculcating parental, 
filial, fraternal, and connubial love. While upon the supposi- 
tion of its accuracy, the requisition of our Lord is perfectly 
intelligible, and strictly conformable to what he has elsewhere 
said, 4 he that loveth father or mother more than me, is not 
worthy of me ; and he that loveth son or daughter more than 
me, is not worthy of me.' 

I have here examined the account of Jacob and Esau's 
relative situation in the favour of God, not because it is more 
readily and satisfactorily explained, than other texts brought 
to verify the dogma of irrespective decrees ; but because, upon 
a cursory perusal, it is perhaps most likely to create erroneous 
impressions with those, that are either disinclined or unable 
to interpret scripture by scripture. Did my limits permit, to 
demonstrate that the epistles of Paul are equally free from 
these modern speculations, or rather revived reveries of Au- 
gustin, would not be the less feasible or conclusive. The 
election of the Apostle has an undoubted reference to the 
admission of the Gentiles to the privileges of the gospel, on 
its rejection by the Jews ; who, from being a chosen and pecu- 
liar people, were, by their spontaneous renunciation of the 
blessed Jesus, deprived of the enviable distinction, in order 

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to share its benefits with the despised posterity of Esau, in 
due time, breaking the spiritual yoke of Jacob from their 
necks, and so far recovering the birthright of their ancestor, 
as to inherit alike the promises made unto Abraham. In this 
point of view, the Jews as a nation were once the elect of God, 
and are so described, when multitudes of their number were 
wholly destitute of divine and saving grace ; and in this point 
of view, the Gentiles have succeeded to be the elect of God, 
when it is to be feared scarcely a less proportion are sadly 
unconscious of the inestimable benefits they enjoy ; and whose 
condemnation will unquestionably be the more disastrous, 
from the very circumstance of their election, to a knowledge 
of Christ, being insufficient to put 6 a new spirit' within them, 
to ' take away the stony heart out of 5 their 6 flesh, and give 1 
them 'a heart of flesh.' 

How idle then to convert national into individual dispensa- 
tions ; and from the election of the great body of the Gentiles 
to infer that of private persons. Even the rapid glance I 
have taken must convince you of the absence of all scriptural 
evidence in its favour, and nothing is more certain than the 
destructive, demoralising consequences attending the belief, 
of a divine and unchangeable foreordination of whatsoever 
comes to pass. 

With those, who have already obtained the one thing 
needful ; who are truly born again and confederate with the 
spirit of Christ, it may not have a very injurious tendency. 
So long as the perfection of reason remains a desideratum, 
many untenable hypotheses will continue to be framed, where 
there is no sympathy for vice or irreligion, and that, when 
sincerely entertained, it becomes us to expose, without im- 
peaching the practical faith and holiness of their defenders. 
More than this, it would however be criminal to concede. 
For when the circulation of errour, even under the most 
honest convictions of its truth, is known to be followed by 
calamitous effects to the world of sinners ; it is the duty of 
all, who minister in holy things to investigate, not so much 



243 



the motives which give it currency, as the validity of its 
claims upon human credence. They may, and they should, 
caution a fellow labourer to beware how he propagates a 
doctrine, which the earliest Christians never thought of, and 
which innumerable theologians have treated, as a false in- 
duction from a few insulated texts, not happily compared with 
the general scope of the inspired writings. And yet, they 
must mainly importune the sinner to beware, how he receives 
for truth a system of predestination, that being utterly sub- 
versive of free agency, destroys effectually the doctrine of 
accountability, with the personal morality and immorality of 
all our actions. 

I know that this is a corollary warmly denied by its support- 
ers ; but it is a denial, that they cannot sustain by any 
successful appeal to reason, any successful effort to reconcile 
as glaring a paradox as was ever seriously advanced. Here 
they acknowledge their inability, and did this merely arise 
from the incomprehensibility of the subject, because, like the 
divine nature, it is transcendental, in other words, above our 
intellectual ken, it would form no insurmountable obstacle to 
its reception. But when it absolutely contradicts every 
admitted principle of ratiocination, every semblance of prob- 
ability and even of possibility, there can be no danger in 
renouncing it, as a creed, that never was and never will be 
applied to any valuable or practical purpose. 

It may indeed often imbolden the sinner to linger in his 
headlong career to destruction. To him, it may prove an emo-1 
lient temporary balm ; it may cicatrize the wounds of his 
conscience, to be persuaded, that his guilty conduct results 
from a fatal and incontrollable necessity. But happily for all 
truly pious men, they never rely upon a personal decree of 
election, as if it could justify their avoidance of a sober, 
righteous, and godly life. They rather prefer to be ' follow- 
ers of them who through faith and patience inherit the prom- 
ises. 1 It is in this manner, that they exhibit their saving 
knowledge of Christ, and it is thus, that every unsanctified 



244 



predestinarian must eventually believe and obey, or he will 
never be welcomed into the blissful presence of Him, 4 Who 
will render to every man according to his deeds : To them 
who, by patient continuance in well-doing, seek for glory, and 
honour, and immortality, eternal life : But unto them that are 
contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteous- 
ness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon 
every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also 
of the Gentile : But glory, honour, and peace, to every man 
that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile : 
For there is no respect of persons with God.' 

And if no respect of persons, brethren, if the uncompromis- 
ing language of the scriptures be, 6 not the hearers of the law 
are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justifi- 
ed ;' then, as I before remarked, he must look altogether to 
character ; he can accept no man's person ; upon character 
he must predicate his decrees ; and upon character, growing 
out of free choice and not irresistible fate, award the respec- 
tive issues of eternity. Such is the doctrine of the bible. 
Such is the doctrine, which the Church prefers to the gloomy 
opinions of the French reformer. And if for this she is to be 
traduced, the universal diffusion of the truth can alone relieve 
her, from the envenomed tongue of calumny. Her sentiments 
will not be surrendered. Like the holy oracles from which 
they are educed, her articles of religion will steadfastly resist 
all the encroachments of heresy and delusion. 

There is' however one cause of misconception upon this 
subject, which 1 must not neglect to notice. A proper line 
of demarcation is not generally preserved between the pecu- 
liarities of Calvin, and those leading doctrines of the cross, 
which he only maintains in common with the orthodox divines 
of every age ; and the consequence is, that the Church often 
meets with opposition from persons, who if better informed 
would not withhold from her, the tribute of their esteem. 

Be it therefore remembered, that the peculiarities in ques- 
tion are these, the belief in total depravity ; in partial 



245 



redemption ; in unconditional election and reprobation ; in 
irresistible grace and instantaneous conversion ; and in the 
final, or more correctly, the certain perseverance of the saints. 
All of them, doctrines unknown to our articles, and that 
should be carefully distinguished from the radical and essen- 
tial principles of the gospel, to which every faithful minister is 
accustomed to take heed, as well to preserve himself, as the 
souls committed to his care, in all things pertaining to eternal 
life. 

And yet, how often have they been confounded with these 
last, w T ith sentiments purely evangelical, and revealed from 
heaven : How often has the ambassador of Christ, besought 
his hearers, and prayed them in Christ's stead be ye recon- 
ciled unto God ; repent ye of your sins ; deplore your natural 
corruption ; desire of God in earnest prayer to change and 
renew the deadness of your affections, to infuse into your 
hearts the faith that worketh by love, and above all, to purify 
your souls in the blood of the Lamb, that taketh away the 
sins of the world : How often has he enforced these topicks 
with the solemn sanctions of an eternal judgment according 
to righteousness ; and then, how promptly has he been de- 
nounced for his enthusiasm, his fanaticism, his terrourism, 
and probably with a view to crown the climax of opprobrium, 
how has he been reviled for his Calvinism. 

But what pitiable, what lamentable infatuation is this. To 
conjure into being some huge misshapen mass of deformity, 
and mingling with its crudities the blessed religion of Christ, 
to give the unnatural compound some uncouth and frightful 
name, and immediately discard it, for a bugbear and a lie. 
We might as well reject all truth, because it has at times been 
made to coalesce with errour. On such ground, protestants 
might renounce their Saviour, since his worship is divided 
with the Catholick ; Christians abjure their God, since his 
name and attributes are known and honoured by the Jew. 

It should therefore be a matter of extreme caution w T ith 
every man, how he trifles with sacred things, and how he 



246 



resolves them into the mere speculations of the human mind. 
Such speculations may be ingenious, and yet false ; they may 
be abstruse and erudite, and yet nothing worth. Universally 
may they be disowned, without impairing the piety, or en- 
dangering the salvation of the soul. But at the same time, let 
each individual be sure, that neither passion, nor prejudice, 
nor ignorance is suffered to triumph over his understanding, 
to the disparagement of those words of eternal life, which, so 
far from being exclusively Calvinistick, have been adhered to 
by the friends of Jesus, from the earliest promulgation of 
the gospel ; those words of eternal life, which the Church 
ever has recognised, and which she never will relinquish, so 
long as she retains a sanctuary for her children, and a faithful 
minister to stand at her altar. 

She is indeed catholick and enlightened in her views of 
religion, but in nothing does she presume to be more so, than 
its divine Author ; in nothing will she sooner accommodate 
herself to the lax principles of some, than to the excessively 
rigid and austere sentiments of others. But her course is the 
happy medium pursued by Christ himself ; in appearance 
simple without baldness, and beautiful without pageantry ; 
in spirit humble without cant, and grave without hypocrisy ; 
in doctrine liberal without licentiousness, and tenacious with- 
out bigotry. Whoever repairs to her, with other views and 
prepossessions, must either rescind them, or find no pleasure 
in her communion. He must walk worthy of the Lord unto 
all pleasing, or he will obtain no passport from her to the 
heavenly world. 

The preceding remarks must have convinced you, that the 
melancholy doctrines of arbitrary election and reprobation 
have no form, nor comeliness, no beauty in her eyes, that she 
should desire them ; and with the divine blessing, I propose, 
upon the ensuing sabbath, to prove, that she is equally pure 
and free from blemish, in the remaining articles of her faith. 
And may Almighty God, of his infinite mercy, enable us, to 
discern their truth ; and may we be induced to receive them 



247 



into honest and good hearts ; may he grant us capacity to un- 
derstand, wisdom to improve, and grace to obey ; and to Him, 
the Father, to the Son, and Holy Ghost, three persons and 
one God, shall be ascribed all the glory, and honour, and 
praise, world without end. Amen. 



SERMON XVI. 

isaiah lxii. 1. 

For Ziorfs sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem^ 
sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth 
as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that 
burneth. 

Having concluded a very brief and cursory survey of tho 
doctrines of the Church, in relation to the natural corruption 
of man, the extent of Christ's redemption, and the much 
debated subjects of election and reprobation ; I am compelled 
to prolong the investigation, for the purpose of vindicating 
* the salvation thereof,' in some other particulars, upon which 
her opinions are either grossly misunderstood or designedly 
misrepresented. Ignorance is unquestionably the principal 
cause ; but then the promotion of a sect, the interests of a 
party, come in for their full share of productive capital, in 
the ungracious office of defaming the views, she is solicitous 
to maintain upon the prominent features of the gospel. 

It is said, for example, that we entertain a confident per- 
suasion of the inherent capacity of the sinner to work out his 
own salvation, and that the Holy Spirit is by no means an 
indispensable agent in the process of conversion. But where 
our accusers obtain their authority for a charge, so grave and 
imposing, is to me entirely unknown. If true, it would in- 



248 



deed destroy all our pretensions to the Christian name, and 
convict us of what the Apostles would have boldly pronounced 
a damnable heresy. We deny it with deserved, and I trust 
with holy indignation. No more can we advance one single 
step towards the attainment of the graces of religion, without 
the assistance of the Spirit of our God, than deprived of his 
providential care and protection, we could inspire one breath 
of air, or move a muscle of the body. But are we here 
corporeally dependant ? So in the more noble functions and 
susceptibilities of the soul, we are spiritually dependant ; the 
Holy Ghost is our indispensable guide and director; the 
purveyor of every good thought, and word, and deed. 

Listen to the strong and plenary language of our tenth 
article ; 8 The condition of man, after the fall of Adam, is 
such, that he cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own 
natural strength and good works, to faith, and calling upon 
God : wherefore we have no power to do good works pleasant 
and acceptable to God, without the grace of God, by Christ 
preventing,' that is, preceding 6 us, that we may have a good 
will, and working with us, when we have that good will.' 
Does this look like winning Christ and heaven, by our own 
unaided efforts ? Can our fellow Christians present us, with 
a more humble acknowledgment of their reliance upon the 
divine assistance ? Let them produce it ; let an inquisition 
be held, and if it should prove scriptural and orthodox, we 
will gladly embrace it ; we have no objection to the most 
positive contradiction of mere human ability to choose the 
good, and refuse the evil. 

All that we contend for is this. In the order of nature, 
God hath given us power to elevate the arm, in compliance 
with our o wn volition, and in the order of grace, he has equally 
bestowed upon us the power to learn his will, and observe all 
things whatsoever he hath commanded us. Upon no other 
principle can we account for the well known remonstrance 
addressed to the Jewish nation, ' O Israel thou hast destroyed 
thyself, but in me is thy help,' or that yet more severe repri- 



249 



mand pronounced, by our Saviour, against the unbelieving 
Jews, ' ve will not come to me, that ye might have life.' De- 
clarations, which plainly indicate the necessity of human co 
operation, in attaining the virtues of the divine life, and as 
plainly evince that the inclination of God to save is only 
frustrated, by the disinclination of man to obey. Power he 
gives, capacity he does not withhold, the Spirit is perpetually 
admonishing us to accept the overtures of redeeming love ; 
but whatever may have been the character of Paul's conver- 
sion, the age of miracles has terminated ; supernatural coer- 
cion is no longer employed. We have it submitted to our 
personal choice to become penitent, and faithful, and obedient, 
and in case of failure, can ascribe it to no other cause, than 
our fatal opposition to the will of heaven. Irresistible grace 
is an invention of modern times. He, that waits for it, may 
as soon calculate upon gathering a redundant harvest from 
fallow ground. If he does not put forth the best labour of his 
head and heart, he will only sow 7 the wind and reap the 
whirlwind. 

There is however another form, in which the same charge 
is virtually brought against us. We are accused of disowning 
the new birth, or rather of limiting it to the external act of 
baptism. Upon what foundation ? Because in our baptismal 
offices, immediately after the sacrament is administered, it is 
said, 6 Seeing now T , dearly beloved brethren, that this child is 
regenerate; 5 and 6 these persons are regenerate, and grafted 
into the body of Christ's Church.' But a more illiberal crit- 
icism was never offered ; a more disingenuous appeal to the 
prejudices of the uninformed never made. When will the 
individuals, w T ho seemingly love to misinterpret our language, 
learn to be candid and magnanimous ? How often are we to 
be required to refute an oft refuted calumny ? 

If there were the slightest real cause for its circulation, 
there would be no applause from the Christian World, which 
they might not justly challenge, for their unremitted assiduity 
in decrying a Church, capable of countenancing so cross a 

21 



250 



fallacy, as to identify the shadow, with the substance of reli- 
gion ; as to confound the outward and visible sign, with the 
inward and spiritual grace of holy baptism. But no such 
thing ; we maintain no such fallacy. Earnestly contending 
for the faith once delivered to the saints, we rather insist upon 
the absolute necessity of being spiritually born again, in or- 
der to our acceptance with God, and ultimate enjoyment of 
the kingdom of heaven. In applying the word 4 regenerate' 
to the baptized, we are indeed justified by the authority of 
Paul, who speaks of the outward symbol, as ' the washing of 
regeneration,' and the inward grace, as the 6 renewing of the 
Holy Ghost.' And when infants are thus brought to Christ, 
its reception implies a change of state, a transmission from the 
w r orld into his kingdom ; when adults present themselves, we 
are bound to believe, in the judgment of charity, that they come 
forward with convicted hearts and sanctified minds. If oth- 
erwise, then* are they only regenerate in the lower and cer- 
emonial, and not in the higher and spiritual sense. The 
distinction is happily expressed in our twenty seventh article ; 
6 Baptism is not only a sign of profession, and mark of dif- 
ference, whereby Christian men are discerned from others 
that be not christened : but it is also a sign of regeneration, 
or new birth, whereby, as by an instrument, they that receive 
baptism rightly are grafted into the Church : the promises of 
forgiveness of sin, and of our adoption to be the sons of God 
by the Holy Ghost, are visibly signed and sealed : faith is 
confirmed, and grace increased by virtue of prayer unto God.' 

How idle then to impute to us a belief in mere sacramental 
regeneration ! How idle ! when a thorough change of the 
heart and its affections is constantly urged upon the hearer, 
and described, as < a death unto sin and a new birth unto right- 
eousness : For being by nature born in sin, and the children 
of wrath, w T e are hereby made the children of grace ;' when 
the qualifications required of adult persons, previous to their 
baptism, are these, ' repentance whereby they forsake sin ; and 
faith, whereby they steadfastly believe the promises of God 



251 



made to them, in that sacrament.' Whoever misconstrues lan- 
guage, forcible and unequivocal as this, must be determined 
to misconstrue. Whoever secretly insinuates or openly de- 
clares, that we have no faith in the instrumentality of the 
Holy Spirit, in producing these blessed results, can from his 
own feelings derive but a very faint conception of the sincerity, 
with which, after the ordinance of baptism is celebrated, we 
address this prayer to our heavenly Father ; 4 give thy holy 
spirit to these persons ; that being now born again, and 
made heirs of everlasting salvation, through our Lord Jesus 
Christ, they may continue thy servants, and attain thy prom- 
ises, through the same Lord Jesus Christ thy Son.' 

The truth is, that there is no Church, there is no ministry 
set for the defence of the gospel, more strenuous in contending 
for a radical change of nature ; a change of a moral, as well as 
of an intellectual character ; a change in the habits, inclina- 
tions, and delights of the soul. We have no confidence in 
loud professions, none in mere ceremonial compliances. We 
are for making Christians such as Paul, as dead to sin, and 
as alive to righteousness. We are for counselling you, breth- 
ren, ' as the truth is in Jesus, that ye put off, concerning the 
former conversation, the old man, which is corrupt according 
to the deceitful lusts ; and be renewed in the spirit of your 
mind ; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is 
created in righteousness and true holiness.' And is all this 
happily effected ? Instead of imputing it to unassisted human 
capabilities, we gratefully acknowledge, it is only 4 through the 
Spirit,' that man can 6 mortify the deeds of the body;' it is 
1 the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus,' that doth make 
' us free from the law of sin and death.' 

Another charge, frequently advanced against the Church 
and its clergy, is, that we decry the doctrine of justification by 
faith, and prefer to attribute our salvation to the merit of our 
good works. And if the words of an enemy are to be credited, 
there can be no doubt of our guilt ; we are wonderfully rep- 
robate concerning the true faith, and have need to be taught 



252 



what are the first principles of the doctrine of Christ. But \ 
what is our own statement ? To whom do we profess to look 
for salvation ? What is the tenour of the article most cordi- 
ally and unreservedly embraced by us ? ' We are accounted 
righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and 
Saviour Jesus Christ by faith ; and not for our own works or 
deservings. W r herefore, that we are justified by faith only, is 
a most wholesome doctrine, and v*ry full of comfort, as more 
largely is expressed in the homily of justification. 5 Christ 
Jesus is consequently the sole object of our reliance, the only 
Being through whose merits and intercession, we anticipate 
the gift of eternal life. 

Strictly speaking faith itself is far from meritorious. It 
does not include the principle of our redemption. It is not 
the original cause of our reconciliation with God. It can do 
no more than enable us to lay hold on the precious promises 
made us, through Christ. He alone constitutes our hope, and 
joy, and crown of rejoicing. He alone through his unsinning 
obedience, his incarnation, sufferings, and death ; he alone 
deserves and enjoys with us the high honour of being 6 the way, 
the truth, and the life,' 6 the end of the law for righteousness 
to every one that believeth.' This is our estimate of him ; 
this our construction of the conditional efficacy of faith ; for 
this, we pronounce ' justification by faith only' to be 6 a most 
wholesome doctrine and very full of comfort.' Insomuch, 
that to yield it up would impair a material feature, which 
distinguishes the covenant of grace ; a feature through which, 
our frail and imperfect services, when proceeding out of a 
true penitent heart and lively faith, are mercifully accepted 
in lieu of that strict undeviating performance of the divine 
will, which it is, both naturally and morally, impossible for 
us to accomplish. i If we say that we have no sin, we de- 
ceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our 
sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to 
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.' 

I am indeed free to assert, that were it even practicable for 



253 



us to lead a perfectly pure and sinless life, nothing but the 
j . most monstrous arrogance could ever induce us to claim the 
never ending rewards of heaven, as a matter of right, justly 
accruing to us, for the exemplary holiness of perhaps an hour, 
i a day, or at most, a few years. The disparity would be too 
, great ; the disproportion between the thing claimed and the 
thing performed, far too obvious to be reconciled even with 
our own notions of retributive justice ; and therefore we 
should not hesitate a single moment in arriving at the conclu- 
sion distinctly avowed, in the epistle to the Ephesians, 4 By 
grace are ye saved, through faith : and that not of yourselves : 
it is the gift of God : not of works, lest any man should 
boast,' 

Less than this, reason itself should not fail to teach, and 
the Church does not speak more loftily. She recommends not 
to her members the deplorable predicament of 4 being ignorant 
of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own 
righteousness.' She knows very well, that 4 without faith it 
is impossible to please God.' She is thoroughly persuaded, 
that if her clergy were to surrender so essential a part of the 
Christian doctrine, they might as well throw aside their bibles, 
as well sever the thread of accountability, and cease to urge 
upon your hopes and fears the bliss of heaven, and the pains 
of hell. Hear her own deliberate opinion embracing the case 
of the impenitent and unbelieving ; 4 Works done before the 
grace of Christ, and the inspiration of his Spirit, are not 
pleasant to God, forasmuch as they spring not of faith in Jesus 
Christ, neither do they make men meet to receive grace, or 
(as the school-authors say) deserve grace of congruity : yea 
rather, for that they are not done as God hath willed and com- 
manded them to be done, we doubt not but they have the nature 
of sin.' 

Neither let any man doubt it, who is able to trace effects to 
their causes ; who is capable of appreciating works by the 
motives, which produce them. Let him rather reflect, that 
actions precisely similar to the eye, like donations to the poor 

21* 



254 



for example, may yet proceed from very different views ; and 
that although we are unable to distinguish the evil from the 
good, Omniscient wisdom is still sure to penetrate the secret 
impulses of the soul, and determine at a glance, which results 
from mere ostentation, and which from a truly liberal and 
charitable spirit. ' For the Lord seeth not as man seeth ; for 
man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh 
on the heart.' A circumstance evincing the necessity of con- 
necting good motives with all our apparently good actions, 
and that satisfactorily explains the preceding article of the 
Church, in accordance with both reason and scripture. For 
wherever the intention is bad, our conduct will not bear the 
scrutiny of the All-seeing eye. Wherever we are destitute of 
the faith in Jesus, exacted in the scriptures, there we may be 
certain of displeasing God, there the seemingly fairest virtues 
will spring from worldly maxims and prove of no avail, at the 
judgment day of Him, who hath said, * whosoever therefore 
shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before 
my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny 
me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which 
is in heaven. 5 

And yet, brethren, our Church embraces no crude and 
barren faith. She is no promoter of antinomian principles. 
She denies not the ^ faithful saying' of St Paul, 1 these things 
I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believ- 
ed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These 
things are good and profitable unto men.' Her sentiments 
on the. contrary are worthy of her uiigin. They are practical 
and sound, alike removed from laxity of morals, and the un- 
productive cry of Lord, Lord. You shall judge for yourselves ; 
6 Albeit that good works, which are the fruits of faith, and 
follow after justification, cannot put away our sins, and 
endure the severity of God's judgment ; yet are they pleasing 
and acceptable to God in Christ, and do spring out necessarily 
of a true and lively faith ; insomuch that by them a lively 



255 



faith may be as evidently known, as a tree discerned by the 
fruit. 5 

How excellent in principle ! How admirably adapted in 
practice, to promote the interests, and ensure the welfare of 
society ! Let Christians cherish such sentiments ; let these 
control the conduct of life, and no more will religion be 
wounded, by the hands of its professed friends, no more will 
the proverbial outcry to the prejudice of morality cause the 
worldling to suspect their integrity. You here perceive the 
true foundation, upon which the superstructure of good works 
must be erected. They possess no abstract merit, and they 
must be associated with the faith of Christ, fi For as the body 
without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. 5 
f Yea, a man may say, thou hast faith, and I have works : 
show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my 
faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God : 
thou doest well : the devils also believe, and tremble. But 
wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead V 
They are the best evidence we can obtain of our recovery, 
from the bondage of sin to the liberty of the sons of God. i A 
good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit ; neither can a corrupt 
tree bring forth good fruit.' They are an undoubted stand- 
ard, by which we may prove our own selves, and safely deter- 
mine, that we have not believed in vain, provided love to God 
and love to our neighbour have thoroughly porvaded the heart, 
and meliorated its otherwise selfish and unruly passions. 

Others may fondly imagine their conversion to have been 
the work of a moment. They may principally credit it, from 
the idea of being able to point out the precise instant of its 
operation upon their passive souls, little heeding the memora- 
ble remark to the master in Israel, 6 the wind bloweth where 
it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not 
tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth : so is every one 
that is born of the Spirit ! 5 But without entering upon these 
subtleties, let us be content with a safer and better guide, than 
that, which may finally prove to be the day-dream of a wild 



256 



and disordered mind. Let us only feel, that we have made 
our peace with God, when we experience that the fruits of 
peace unto holiness are exemplified, in the practical piety and 
benevolence of our lives. 

I know how prevalent the idea is, that religion is easily 
obtained. I know that with many, the presumptuous sinner 
of to-day is by no means incapacitated from becoming the holy 
saint of to-morrow. I also know, that, for rejecting such doc- 
trines, our Church and her ministers are regarded with a 
jealous eye, and inveighed against as possessing the form of 
godliness, without the power thereof. But while we are con- 
stant in the belief, and happy in the conviction, that all men 
may partake of that grace of God, which bringeth salvation, 
yet are we decidedly of opinion, that vigorous personal efforts 
are previously requisite, in order to obtain the victory over 
the corrupt passions and propensities of our nature. Prayer 
is essential ;< secret, ardent, and persevering prayer. But how 
arduous is the duty to unpractised lips, and minds unlettered 
in the knowledge of God. Faith is essential. But how is it 
to be secured at a moment's warning, with scarcely a prior 
thought bestowed upon the evidence, on which rests the cred- 
ibility of the gospel ? Repentance is essential. But what 
confidence is to be placed in that repentance, which is yet to 
be tested, by a complete reformation of life and manners ? 

There is indeed a mode of obviating all these objections. 
It is easy to resort to certain imaginary decrees, and, reposing 
full confidence in them, to draw largely and expeditiously upon 
the power and influence of irresistible and all-conquering 
grace. But then, what becomes of the admonition, 6 strive to 
enter in at the strait gate ; for many, I say unto you, will seek 
to enter in, and shall not be able ;' with innumerable others, 
clearly intimating the formidable impediments to the way 
everlasting, which the sinner encounters in the depravity of 
his nature, and its inveterate attachment to the idols of this 
world ? Amid all the odium undeservedly cast upon our com- 
munion, I do verily believe, that we demand far higher evi- 



257 



dence of the soul's conversion, than most of our accusers. 
They often appear to be satisfied with the sighs and tears, the 
repentance, prayers, and faith of a day. The related experi- 
ence of an hour is by no means an uncommon criterion, 
through which they are ready to welcome the returning prod- 
igal, as a new creature in Christ Jesus. But we are appre- 
hensive, that these impressions may pass away, as the morning 
cloud and the early dew. We are confident, that a life of 
holiness is the only legitimate evidence of our having actually 
taken up the cross of Christ, and followed him in the regen- 
eration. 

To be plain, brethren, we are doubtful of sudden conversions. 
We fear, that the feelings are more excited, and the imagina- 
tion inflamed, than the judgment convinced or the heart puri- 
fied. It is not, that we dislike revivals of religion. Every 
faithful minister of Jesus fervently prays, that the hearts of all 
men may bow before the golden sceptre of Immanuel. It is 
not, that we hesitate to receive the ever to be remembered 
scripture, 6 marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born 
again.' By us, it is embraced without the slightest reservation, 
and considered as demanding the new birth, as an invariable 
prerequisite to the attainment of the kingdom of heaven. 

But are we charged with excessive languor and apathy in 
the good cause of Christ ? Is our religion questioned, and 
our Church pronounced unfavourable to its growth, because 
we do not after long intervals flock in troops to the Redeem- 
er's standard ? I shall be exculpated in your eyes, if, with 
decorum and a charitable spirit, I repel the imputations, with 
such considerations as these : We cannot, with the view of 
producing a general excitement, adopt any expedients un- 
known to the scriptures, and unauthorized by the practice of 
Christ and his Apostles. Equally opposed to precipitation on 
the one hand, and to procrastination on the other, we cannot 
avoid recommending, that, in the most important transaction 
of this life, the greatest care should be taken, that our resolu- 
tions are deliberately formed, our principles clearly understood, 



258 



our motives fairly canvassed, our affections deeply engaged, 
and our hearts firmly set upon witnessing a good confession 
before God and man. 

Persuaded, that the operations of the Spirit are gradual and 
not instantaneous, we make a material distinction between 
convictions of sin, and the actual passage from death unto 
life. So that, if large numbers, within a short period and 
with little previous reflection, were to present themselves in 
order to partake of the bread, which we break, and of the cup 
of blessing, which we bless, it would be felt, that many had 
probably mistaken the commencement for the consummation 
of grace. We should not doubt their sincerity. We should 
consider them perfectly honest and conscientious, alive to their 
dearest interests, and convinced of having obtained the one 
thing needful. 

But pass some few months, and in our opinion, the religion 
of those, who together commenced the race of glory, and 
honour, and immortality, with the like fair and brilliant pros- 
pects, would exhibit a widely variant and discordant aspect. 
Some of them would have cherished their first impressions. 
They would have made diligent use of all the various means 
of grace, and in this way ensuring the divine blessing upon 
them, they would have gradually perfected the work, already 
supposed to have been finished. Others however would have 
lost their first love. They would have relaxed by little and 
Jittle from their original zeal, and at length perceiving their 
religious duties to become more and more irksome, they would 
either have abandoned them, under the idea of their having 
been self deluded ; or else have consoled themselves with the 
flattering doctrine of their final perseverance. 

Our opinion is, that in all such cases there is experienced, 
at the time of making a publick profession of faith in Christ, 
nothing more than sudden and violent convictions of sin ; that 
those convictions may or may not prove the harbingers of 
ultimate conversion ; but let them eventuate as they may, 
that the first class will always look back to this period, as 



259 



, the epoch of their regeneration, and the second be consider- 
ed by their friends to have been grossly, though unintentionally 
deceived. We cannot therefore encourage such precipitate 
or rather unenlightened union with the Church of Christ. 
When connected with the favourite system from which it 
springs, it reminds us of the oracles of Greece, so ambiguous 
in their predictions, as in no event to incur the slightest dan- 
ger of remaining unfulfilled. The steadfastness of the one 
set of converts is accounted for, on the principle of their 
having been really born again ; the apostacy of the other, on 
the ground of having mistaken the nature of their spiritual 
experience. The whole theory is consequently constructed 
in so ingenious a manner, so admirably adapted to any sequel, 
that it is almost impossible to convince them of its fallacy. 
They who do not fall away are firm believers in instantaneous 
regeneration ; some of those who do, are unwilling to aban- 
don it, in the hope that their delinquency is but temporary, 
and the residue are left to acknowledge that they never were 
converted. 

T do not wonder that the best and most intelligent divines, 
among our dissenting brethren, are beginning to detect and 
expose the unhappy delusion. No one will question the com- 
petency of dr Mason, whom I have before quoted, to form an 
accurate opinion upon the subject. His language is peculiar- 
ly striking, and I cannot resist the inclination to transcribe 
it. According to him ; 6 Some, in fine, think that religious 
experience is the sole test of admission into the Church, pro- 
vided a man can satisfy them of his conversion, (and they are 
not always haed to be satisfied ;) if he can relate a plausible 
story of his feelings, can talk of his distress and of his comfort, 
and has learnt to deal in joys and ecstasies, it is enough. 
How he came by his experience, he probably cannot tell, and 
his spiritual guides often omit to ask. And yet this is often 
the point, upon which turns the discrimination between true 
and false religion ; between rational experience and fanat- 
icism ; between good influences of the Spirit of God, and 



260 



their counterfeits. It is lamentable, that so large a propor- 
tion of conversions, which are the fruit of tumultuous meetings, 
and the theme of newspaper praise, prove to be of this class. 
Dark views, gross ignorance, and even flat contradictions in 
the simplest truths of Christianity, are no obstacle. Thousands 
go from sin to God : from nature to grace : from condemna- 
tion to pardon : from despondency to rapture : and when 
interrogated about the process by which this marvellous trans- 
ition was accomplished, have little or nothing to say, but that 
they have felt so. And what is still more astonishing, 
they have been translated from darkness to light without being 
illuminated ! For the uttering of incoherent exclamation, and 
the chattering over a set of phrases, though accompanied with 
vehement passions, with shrieks, and failings, and faintings, and 
fits, and trances, must not pass for divine illumination, nor di- 
vine influence of any sort. When we consider the mechanism 
of the human affections, and how rapidly emotion is propagated 
by sympathy through promiscuous crowds, we can explain 
all the phenomena, which in this matter have lately attracted 
the publick wonder, without recourse to supernatural agency ; 
and must be convinced that nothing can be more precarious, 
than the tenure by which these sudden converts hold their 
profession.' 

Nor let it be thought, that the sentiments, of this celebra- 
ted preacher, are perfectly detached and isolated. Dr Beecher, 
a no less celebrated and able congregational divine, has borne 
an equally decided testimony, in his remarks upon some late 
extraordinary revivals in the presbyterian Churches of New- 
York. He has reduced his observations to several heads, and 
upon this, ' The hasty recognition of persons as converted, 
upon their own judgment, without interrogation or evidence,' 
he thus writes, 6 Revivals may become so great and rapid, as 
to make it proper that those experiencing a change, in the 
course of a day, should meet in one place, not to be recog- 
nised as converts, but to be examined, cautioned, and in- 
structed : for the more powerful and rapid is the work of grace 



261 



in a community, the more certain is the existence of sympa- 
thy, and all the causes of self-deception ; and the more 
imperious the necessity of caution, unless we would replenish 
the Church with hypocrites, to keep her agitated by discipline, 
or covered with shame by the neglect of it, 5 

The writer's opinions are the more valuable, because he is 
an ardent promoter of temperate and judicious revivals, but 
for those of a wild, inflammable description, he has no respect, 
he is satisfied of their having in some degree acquired that 
complexion among his presbyterian friends, and after many 
admirable thoughts, draws towards a conclusion in these forci- 
ble terms ; ' I have only to add that all the evil may, with 
perfect ease be avoided, without diminishing the true spirit 
and power of a revival ; but in every respect shall increase it. 
There is no need of praying as if God and man were deaf, or 
of wallowing on the floor, and frothing at the mouth, as if 
filled with hydrophobia, instead of the Spirit of God : nor any 
harm in kindness and gentleness, nor any benefit in harsh and 
severe epithets. The state of man may be explained to him 
so that he shall believe and feel, better than by calling him a 
devil, a viper, or a serpent. There may be as great direct- 
ness as is needed, or as is possible without indecorum, and 
the gospel may be preached faithfully and attended with the 
power of God, without groaxing in prayer and crying ' axeen,' 
and without fe:>iale prayers and exhortations, and without 
that spiritual pride, which never fails to attend pressing the 
mass of the community out of their places, and shaking to- 
gether in one chaldron of effervescence all the passions of all 
the classes in human society.' And again, ' Dear brethren in 
Christ ; you must not, for a moment suppose that I do not 
fervently love you ; or that I ascribe to you in extenso, all the 
defects to which I have alluded. But that I have drawn the 
outlines of a moral chart, which such a disastrous revival, as 
your present course could not fail to lead to, would amply fill 
up, I have not a doubt.' 

Such then, brethren, are the opinions of two of the strongest 

22 



262 



men to be found in the dissenting Churches, in regard to the 
excesses committed under the guise of religion. The opinions 
themselves I do not hesitate to approve. The language in 
which they are expressed may be objectionable, and I do not 
propose to become responsible either for its sarcasm or its 
caustick severity. But certainly from the enemies of the 
Church, L have the same right to avail myself of self-accusing 
concessions, that the conqueror has to wield the weapons of 
a vanquished foe ; and I desire no more convincing evidence 
to sustain the views entertained by us, in relation to the ex- 
travagancies, which have become extremely prevalent under 
the popular and imposing name of revivals. I have not that 
confidence in them, which I should have, if they were more 
sober, enlightened, and durable : if the soul was not stormed 
through the imagination ; if the heart was not supposed to be 
quickened in a moment, and the full-grown saint manufactur- 
ed, in the twinkling of an eye, out of the votary of the world, 
the veteran in guilt, and of course, the ignoramus in divinity. 

But I will not stoop to the language of invective. Our 
Christian brethren, so far as we are concerned, have an un- 
doubted right to follow the dictates of their own judgment, 
and sincerely do I rejoice, whenever their labours are attended 
with the salvation of immortal souls. My object is purely 
defensive. It is to justify the Church, for pursuing what we 
claim the privilege of believing to be, a more scriptural mode 
of instruction ; and although it must be acknowledged to enlist 
in its favour far less excitement and enthusiasm ; yet is it to 
be seriously borne in mind, that while the murmuring of the 
rivulet is heard, the deep majestick stream glides in peace 
and quietness to its ocean home. And long may it continue 
to flow and fertilize with its waters the vineyard of the Lord. 
Even from the summary sketch I have drawn, of the more 
important articles of our faith, you must be convinced, that 
purer doctrines were never imbodied from the inspired vol- 
ume, and that we have abundant reason to characterize them, 
as 6 the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.' 



263 



Never then, let us surrender them in compliance with the 
errours and prejudices of others. They were adopted with 
the utmost deliberation, when our American became a distinct 
branch of the holy apostolick Church, and by a convention, 
that understood their import precisely as they have been inter- 
preted in your hearing. A circumstance, that evidently exon- 
erates us from the stigma of inconsistency, to which I have 
before alluded. For had they countenanced a single ingredi- 
ent in the poisoned chalice of Calvinism, it would have been 
expunged. Had it been deemed practicable to have improved 
them, in any one particular, the time was favourable, the ability 
ample, and the authority undoubted. But no improvement 
could be suggested ; they were preserved unbroken and entire; 
and still continuing to receive the approbation of our minds 
and consciences, they bid fair to be the true faith of Church- 
men to the end of time. 

I will only subjoin my fervent prayer to God, that to the 
extent of our day and generation, our talents and resources 
of every description, we may be included within the number. 
They will enable us to shun all those ill concealed rocks of 
heresy and schism, upon which so many immortal souls have 
made everlasting shipwreck of their faith and holiness. The 
brilliant lamp of their salvation will guide us, in peace and 
safety, to our journey's end. And when at last we are called 
upon to exchange the Church militant, for the Church triumph- 
ant, it will be seen, in the presence of an assembled throng of 
angels, ready to bear us on exulting wing to the heavenly 
mansions ; it will be seen, that, compiled in undeviating con- 
formity to the doctrines, w r hich are according to godliness, 
they have materially contributed to work out for us, an 6 ex- 
ceeding and eternal weight of glory. 5 Amex. 



264 



SERMON XVII. 

isaias lxiL ti 

For Ziorts sake will I not hold my peace, aad for Jerusalem's 
sake I will not rest r until the righteousness thereof go forth 
as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp thai 
burneth. 

There is yet remaining one doctrine of the Church, to 
which upon reflection I have concluded, brethren, to direct 
your attention. It is not, that its belief is absolutely essential 
to the Christian character. It is not, but that many precious 
souls will hereafter enjoy the blessedness of those, whose sins 
are forgiven, who shall have existed here below perfectly ig- 
norant of its nature, and therefore deprived of the capacity to 
yield to the biblical evidence, upon which it is founded. But 
the doctrine is interesting in itself, and requires to be known ; 
the Church is sometimes rudely assailed for admitting it, into 
the articles of her belief ; and it certainly contradicts one of 
the most common and popular errours, prevailing in the age 
and country, in which we live. 

From their youth up, the great body of the people are taught 
to believe, that, immediately after death, the departed soul 
either ascends to heaven or descends to hell ; and never have 
I witnessed more surprise, than when the idea has been op- 
posed, as entirely groundless and untenable. We are at once 
suspected of consigning the spirits of the dead to a temporary 
oblivion, or perhaps the purgatory of the catholick is suggest- 
ed to the mind of the hearer, and he trembles lest the gross- 
ness of that fantasy should be attempted to be palmed upon 
his understanding. But no such thing ! We reject both the 
one and the other. As in every particular to which I have 
already adverted, here also we build upon the sure foundation 



265 



of holy oracles, and are only astonished at the extraordinary 
facility, with which one of their most obvious intimations is 
usually overlooked. 

I will explain myself at large. Twice on each revolving 
sabbath, we are accustomed to express our belief in the affir- 
mation of the creed, commonly called the Apostles', respecting 
our Lord Jesus Christ, that ' he descended into hell while 
the third article of our religion is conceived in these terms, 
4 As Christ died for us, and was buried ; so also is it to be 
believed, that he went down into hell.' Are these expressions 
then, to be interpreted in a figurative or a literal sense ? Are 
they to be considered as describing an event, and designating 
a place, which exist only in the regions of fancy, or such sol- 
emn and serious truths, as are worthy of all acceptation ? I 
answer ? that they are to be interpreted literally. I answer, 
that when we affirm of the blessed Jesus, that i he descended 
into hell,' we refer to the actual flight and residence of his 
soul, during the period of its separation from his disanimated 
body. 

Not however, that we give the slightest countenance to the 
horrible idea of his visiting the place of torment, and there 
enduring the agonies of the second death ; for what concord 
has Christ with Belial, that he should enter the infernal pit ? 
Or how could we then understand the declaration made to the 
thief upon the Cross ; c verily I say unto thee, to-day shalt thou 
be with me in paradise V Paradise, which is a term indica- 
tive of pleasure and not of pain, of reward and not of punish- 
ment. No, no ; when the Saviour of sinners, at the closing 
scene of his mortal life, cried out, 6 it is finished ;' when ' he 
bowed the head and gave up the ghost ;' then was fully accom- 
plished the entire aggregate of mental and corporeal agony, 
he was content to endure, and all was peace, and happiness, 
and joy. 

He indeed i descended into hell ;' but we are to remember, 
that this sentence concludes with a word of Saxon derivation. 
A word, that instead of implying, as it now does, the reverse 

22* 



266 



of heaven, originally imported no more than the < ■ Infer* *' of' 
the Latins, and the ''ad?,;' of the Greeks; that is, in our 
English tongue, and as explained in the rubrick before the 
creed, i the place of departed spirits.' In this sense* and in 
this alone, do we there use it ; and although its more modern 
signification may induce some scruples of conscience in the 
uninformed, the same observation applies to no less than 
eleven passages of the new testament ; wherever indeed the 
original word is iz adr t ;^. and not ^yeerra'j both of which are 
translated i hell,' in the received version ; but while the latter 
indicates the place of eternal misery, the former merely de- 
notes the intermediate state of the soul after death, and prior 
to the general judgment. It includes the Elysium and the 
Tartarus of the poets, and is sufficiently delineated, in the 
parable of the rich man and Lazarus, to convince us, that it 
is divided into, two separate mansions ; the one being a com- 
mon receptacle for the souls of the righteous ; the other, for 
those of '-the ungodly and the sinner/ 

So that, when the Church, by the adoption of the creed, 
and by the doctrine of her third article, maintains the actual 
descent of Christ into hell, she only coincides with all Christian 
antiquity, and I may add with almost ail protestant divines of 
any repute, in the belief, that his soul was transmitted to 
Abraham's bosom, or to that paradise of God, where the spirits 
of the righteous exist, in the full assurance of a final reunion 
with their slumbering dust, and a subsequent ascension into 
the abodes of perennial felicity. The Church coincides with 
these, and not these alone ; since the same doctrine is clearly 
and satisfactorily deduced, from several pages of the sacred 
volume. 

I have already mentioned one, which affords irresistible 
evidence of its truth. For when our Saviour addressed the 
penitent thief with the inspiring promise, 4 to-day shalt thou 
be with me in paradise ;' he could not possibly allude to 
heaven in the highest sense, because, upon his resurrection, 
he declared to Mary Magdalen, 8 touch me not ; for I have 



267 



not yet ascended to my Father : but go to my brethren, and 
say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father ; 
and to my God, and your God.' To what other region then, 
could he have accompanied his fellow sufferer, immediately 
after death,, and previous to his return to life again ? I know 
of none, unless we admit the doctrine of an intermediate state, 
for the temporary reception of disimbodied spirits. 

This doctrine is further corroborated, by the testimony of 
St Peter, where he affirms of Christ, that he < hath once suf- 
fered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us 
to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the 
Spirit : By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in 
prison.' Spirits, that were not in heaven, because heaven is 
never characterized as a prison : Spirits, that were not in an 
ultimate hell, because the light of the gospel, and the preach- 
ing of the cross, can never penetrate the everlasting abodes 
of darkness and despair. But only acknowledge the existence 
of the paradise contended for, and we immediately discern the 
proprietv of announcing to the spirits of those just men, who 
died previous to the crucifixion of Christ, that the great work 
of their redemption was at length completely accomplished ; 
that he had liquidated the wages of sin, and ensured their 
eventual enjoyment of the kingdom of glory. 

There is also a remarkable passage, in the second chapter 
of the Acts, which abundantly verifies the doctrine in question. 
In the course of his address to the men of Israel, the Apostle 
Peter quotes this prophecy from the sixteenth psalm, 6 thou 
wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine 
Holy One to see corruption.' He quotes it, with the express 
reservation, that the patriarch David * spake of the resurrec- 
tion of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his 
flesh did see corruption.' All which was gloriously fulfilled, 
in the stupendous miracle of his rising from the dead ; when 
his soul and body separated from each other, by the crucifix- 
ion, were once more united ; once more fully recognised by 
his faithful adherents, and until the period of his ascension 



26B 



into heaven, employed as usual in instructing them in the 
things pertaining to the kingdom of God. Although he had 
been put to death in the flesh, he was quick in the Spirit, and 
went and preached to the spirits in prison ; but his soul was 
not left in hell, it did not remain in paradise, with the soul of 
the penitent thief; and if not left, then it must have been there 
anteriour to the resurrection. Although his crucified body 
was taken down from the cross, and entombed in the sepul- 
chre of Joseph of Arimathea, yet was it raised from the dead 
by the power of God, and therefore his flesh did not see cor- 
ruption. 

So far indeed as it relates to the human body of Christ, all 
Christians concur in the uniform testimony of the evangelists, 
that as it rested in hope, so it was raised in glory ; as it was 
consigned to the cearments of the tomb a breathless corpse, 
so after three days it was made alive again, without expe- 
riencing the decomposing influence of the grave. And if 
they can furnish another explanation of the place, where in 
the interim his soul resided ; a place in which it was not left, 
and that is evidently described by the Apes tie. as equally 
rxsuiTED to its prolonged abode, as was the grave to that of 
his body, and consequently it could not be heaven ;. I am con- 
tent to listen to their argument, and if it does not prove better 
than I anticipate, to refute it with the utmost ease. 

For this purpose, I could now adduce many other passages 
of similar import to the preceding, profusely scattered through- 
out the gospels and epistles, but inasmuch as those already 
produced sufficiently authenticate the proposition, that * As 
Christ died for us, and was buried ; so also is it to be be- 
lieved, that he went down into hell ; 5 I shall proceed to some 
few remarks, that are more immediately connected with the 
concerns of the living. 

And certainly the view I have taken destroys the almost 
insupportable idea of a temporary annihilation of our ex- 
istence. It convinces us, that if Christ went and preached to 
the spirits of the departed, there is an appropiiate residence, 



269 

no matter where, for every soul of man, between the hour of 
his dissolution, and the day of judgment ; that we shall not 
then become to 4 dumb forgetfulness a prey but rather ex- 
perience, in our nobler nature, still greater powers of intel- 
lection than we now enjoy. I acknowledge however, that 
this is far from being a source of consolation to those, who 
are living without God in the world, and who have every 
reason to prefer the slumber of ages, to an immediate com- 
panionship with the rich man, in the intervening state of 
partial torment. But what righteous man is there, believing 
in a general resurrection and a general judgment ; believing 
that body and soul must be reunited, before an entrance can 
be ministered unto him abundantly, into the everlasting pre- 
sence of his heavenly Father ; what righteous man is there, 
who under these circumstances will not rejoice, in the scrip- 
tural assurance of a place, adapted to the separate existence 
of his soul, and replete with enjoyments of no ordinary de* 
scription ? 

Remember, that he will there be associated with the pious 
friends and relatives, whom he tenderly loved, in this vale of 
tears. He will there commence his communion and fellowship 
with the saints, of every age, with Abraham, and Isaac, and 
Jacob, with the blessed company of the Apostles, and the 
noble army of martyrs. He will there anticipate with them 
the full fruition of bliss, which shall succeed the second com- 
ing of our Lord, with all his holy angels with him, to judge 
the world in righteousness. And is not this far better, than 
a state of dreamless repose and unconscious oblivion ? Is it 
not far better, to live in paradise surrounded with congen- 
ial spirits, than to endure, for an indefinite period, a total 
suspension of all the active powers of the mind, and all the 
philanthropick affections- of the heart? 

Surely, brethren, it was with the design of encouraging us 
to run with patience the race set before us, that our Saviour 
said, 6 fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to 
kill the soul.' And yet, forasmuch as the rewards of heaven 



270 



can only be obtained, after the resurrection of those, who die 
in the Lord, if there be no intermediate mansion of departed 
and rejoicing spirits, the soul is as effectually destroyed by 
death as the body, and will only revive with it, only live, when it 
shall forever relinquish the bondage of the grave. The whole 
of which is manifestly opposed to the consolation offered by 
Him, who knew all things, to his persecuted followers : and 
is moreover directly subversive of the expectations, entertained 
by the holy Apostle, when he looked forward with rapture to 
the day of his death ; when he ardently longed to depart and 
be with Christ, to be absent from the body and present with 
the Lord, Well then may the believer, in these remoter ages, 
rely upon a like glorious change ; well may he refuse to de- 
spond, under the dismal apprehension, that his soul shall sleep 
with the body the oblivious sleep of death, however temporary. 
It is rather released from this state of sin and sorrow, for 
other and nobler purposes. It is released from its mortal 
companion, in order to be carried by angels, into Abraham's 
bosom, where it will exist in the transporting hope of future 
glory, and under the all pervading consciousness, that * God 
is not the God of the dead, but of the living.' 

There is besides, another aspect, in which the subject pre- 
sents itself, in a most persuasive and practical manner. For 
the moment we accede to the continued existence of departed 
spirits, we necessarily invest them with all the mental powers, 
w T hich they exhibited, in the course of their earthly probation. 
They can reason and reflect. They can call up to remem- 
brance past events, and communicate their thoughts each to 
the other, with perhaps more than their wonted facility, while 
here below. And what must be the consequence ? Every 
thing that transpires on earth is known to them ; not by im- 
mediate inspection ; not that I confide in the rhetorical flourish, 
through which the souls of the dead are represented to be 
continually hovering over the places, which once knew them. 
But death is ever removing his victims here and there, from 
this transient life* Spirit after spirit is perpetually hastening 



271 



to the world of spirits, and when arrived within its confines, 
possessed of memory, and reason, and the capacity of impart- 
ing knowledge ; Is it credible, that they should remain per- 
versely silent and incommunicative of the transactions of this 
world ? As well might we deny, that the human soul of 
Christ preached to the spirits in prison ; as well contend, that 
the whole parable is spurious, which minutely details the con- 
versation occuring between the rich man, and the father of 
the faithful. Since both axe in strict accordance with the 
principle I have suggested, and both are evidently suppositi- 
tious, unless spirit can communicate to spirit every particle of 
intelligence, it has previously acquired. On the contrary, by 
admitting their genuineness, we are forced to concede, that 
as Christ announced his triumphs upon the cross to the in- 
mates of paradise, and as the rich man is represented, relating 
to xlbraham the precise situation of his five brethren, remain- 
ing within the precincts of time ; so every recently departed 
soul is empowered to impart to the souls, with whom it is 
destined to associate, an accurate account of whatever passed, 
within its personal cognizance, in the land of the dying. 

How easy then to develop the practical benefits which 
may result from this imposing and scriptural view of the sub- 
ject. Too many of our race ; too many perchance of this 
very audience, are far more disposed to fear man than the 
Maker of man. They can readily indulge the corrupt pro- 
pensities of our nature, notwithstanding the Omniscient eve is 
continually upon them, spying out all their ways, and still 
entirely refrain in the presence of friends and relatives, whose 
religious feelings they respect, and whose good opinions they 
are anxious to retain. 

But in process of time, those friends, those relatives, whose 
piety operated as a salutary restraint upon their conduct in 
life, are summoned to that bourn, from which no traveller 
returns, and then the impatient sinner too often rushes with 
avidity, into the broad road, which leadeth to destruction. 
The fear of God, and the certainty of his overruling provi- 



t 



272 

dence are scarcely ever permitted to cross his morbid mind, 
and as for man, unless possessed of some colour of right, in 
virtue of the ties of affinity, he alike braves his censure, and 
disdains his applause. 

But only allow the doctrine, which I am anxious to incul- 
cate, only allow this to become the settled persuasion of his 
mind, and what inestimable benefits might not directly follow 
in its train. Imagine that he has been deprived of an affec- 
tionate and pious parent. Of one, whom he both loved and 
feared, and whose loss he could not but sincerely lament. 
Instead of absolutely burying all parental authority, in the 
dust before him, this doctrine awakens new and peradventure 
more lively impressions, than he ever before experienced. 
He represents to himself his beloved relative, in the prepara- 
tory abode of blessedness, and not only so, not only enjoying 
its incipient state of triumph and glory ; but as regularly 
apprized, by those of his acquaintance, who successively yield 
to the summons of death, of the identical manner, in which 
he employs the few moments allotted him to prepare for eter- 
nity. 

If therefore, he sincerely venerates the memory of the pious 
dead, will he not exult in pursuing a course of conduct, which, 
being communicated, would cause the living spirit to rejoice, 
as the angels are said to rejoice over one sinner that repenteth ? 
Or, if he reverenced his parent with a truly filial fear, while 
a resident in time, would he not earnestly endeavour to avoid 
all such offences, as would grieve his sainted spirit, as the 
spirit of God is described to be grieved, in witnessing the 
contradiction of sinners ? I appeal, brethren, to your individ- 
ual consciences, and am bold to assert, that under the circum- 
stances, which have been recited, that man would be vile 
amongst the vile, who could continue utterly regardless of the 
light, in which his actions would be viewed in paradise, by 
the once dearest object of his affections : The once fond, 
indulgent parent, who longs, even in that blissful region, to 
hear of those personal attainments in religion, which shall at 



273 

I ■. . 

length produce a happy reunion, where there are neither tears 
to shed, nor parting benedictions to pronounce. 

There is also another feature in this survey, which nothing 
but the sense of duty could ever induce me to bring up to your 
reflections. We have most of us experienced the melancholy 
bereavement of the friends and relatives we loved, and fondly 
do we cherish the hope, that they are now rejoicing, in the 
intermediate state of happiness. It is possible however, that 
we may hereafter find ourselves mistaken. I may be mistaken 
with regard to one, who was most dear to my heart, and so 
may either of your number, in relation to your equally beloved 
kindred. They may be on the fatal side of the impassable 
gulf, and yet, being fully certified of our present character in 
the sight of heaven, through the same medium to which I have 
called your attention : What are their feelings towards us ? 
What the line of conduct, they would have us pursue ? 

Believe me, brethren, they would only hear of our accept- 
ance of the overtures of the gospel. They would only hear, 
that we had become the humble followers of the cross of 
Christ. Believe me, and not me alone, since the scriptures 
are as full and convincing upon the matter, as it is possible to 
conceive of. I once more allude to the case of the rich man, 
and am indifferent whether you consider the narrative an alle- 
gory or not ; inasmuch as it cannot be less than a representa- 
tion of what does take place, and therefore it settles in either 
event the only principle, that is worth debating. 

Listen then to the words, which he is described as uttering, 
being in torment. They are addressed to Abraham, and are 
couched in the once despised language of prayer ; ' 1 pray 
I thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him,' that is 
Lazarus, 6 to my father's house : For I have five brethren ; 
that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this 
place of torment.' Memory then was his ; affection, his ; the 
power to communicate, his ; and when I have remarked to 
you, that he seems to have utterly renounced the now prover- 
bial fact, that misery loves company ; the lucid and momentous 

23 



274 



character, of the incidents unfolded, renders all other comment 
superfluous. They completely establish the knowledge, which 
the spirits of the dead have, of the affairs of the living. They 
plainly evince, that however happy our own departed and 
beloved relatives may be, in the society of Abraham, the 
wretched Dives is not the only being, who would gladly send 
a messenger to prevail with impenitent sinners, to flee from 
the wrath to come. But, alas ! ' if they hear not Moses and 
the prophets,' Christ and the Apostles, fi neither will they be 
persuaded, though one rose from the dead.' 

Such therefore, brethren, is the practical use, to which I 
would subject the principal argument of this discourse. Some 
of us may have little regard for the exalted Being, most wor- 
thy of continual love, and reverence, and fear ; little regard, 
for the very reason, that he never was, and never can be, cor- 
poreally present to our senses. But we have stood in awe of 
those, whose spirits are now, as we trust, rejoicing in hope, 
or dreadful to think, trembling in agony ; and let us govern 
our future lives by the conviction, that they are perfectly- 
acquainted with the respective parts we are acting, in this 
fleeting show, and, whatever may have been their previous 
solicitudes, that they are now universally desirous of learning 
our actual transition, from the death of sin to the life of right- 
eousness. Let us govern ourselves by this conviction, for it 
may bring us to our senses, in relation to the great Jehovah 
himself. It may teach us to fear Him, who can destroy and 
make alive. And then the great object of our existence will 
be accomplished. We shall be renewed in the spirit of our 
minds, and, although our bodies must necessarily see corrup- 
tion, our better souls will go where Christ has gone before us. 

In drawing to a conclusion, I must not however fail to remind 
you, that the prevailing errour, of departed souls being forth- 
with consigned to an ultimate heaven or hell, is not only at 
variance with those scriptures, which inculcate the existence 
of an intermediate state ; but with many others, utterly incapa- 
ble of being tortured into harmony with it. If for example, 



275 



there were any spirits of just men already entered into their 
everlasting rest, we might be certain of the present heavenly 
felicity of the man after God's own heart. But what says the 
Apostle, in relation to his body, about which there is no con- 
troversy ? i Men and brethren, let me freely speak to you of 
the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his 
sepulchre is with us unto this day.' What in relation to his 
soul ? ' David is not ascended into the heavens : but he saith 
himself, the Lord saith unto my Lord, sit thou on my right 
hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool,' 

If it were not a mere illusion, it would also seem, that the 
spirits of the righteous dead must enjoy the felicity of beholding 
the glorified body of their ascended Redeemer face to face. 
But the Apostle evidently refers this gratifying circumstance 
to his second coming, addressing the faithful in this manner, 
6 when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also 
appear with him in glory.' He does not intimate that they 
would be with him before ; nor, when the holy angels are 
introduced as attending him on the day, that in his glorious 
majesty he shall come to judge the quick and the dead, does it 
appear, that the souls of the saints are to bear them company, 
in their flight from the heavenly world. On the contrary, every 
thing revealed, concerning the resurrection of the dead, and 
the great and terrible day of judgment, clearly indicates, that 
these events must precede the recognition of Christ by believ- 
ers, and the bestow ment of his rewards upon them. These are 
his own words foretelling this consequence of the coming of the 
Son of Man, < then shall he send his angels, and shall gather 
together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part 
of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven ;' and again, 
' thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.' 

Whereas the errour, I am combating, involves the monstrous 
absurdity of a previous entrance into heaven, and a previous 
enjoyment of its rewards. It even supposes the souls of the 
righteous to come out from its blissful courts, and of course 
those of the unrighteous from their dreadful abyss, in order to 



276 



be reunited to their respective bodies, and listen to sentences 
already executed ; ' then shall the King say unto them on his 
right hand, come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom 
prepared for you from the foundation of the world ;' 4 then shall 
he say also unto them on the left hand, depart from me, ye 
cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his an- 
gels.' But the doctrine of an intermediate state harmonizes 
with all these events, it corresponds with the idea of a general 
judgment, and agrees with the memorable declaration of Paul 
to the Thessalonians ; 4 for this we say unto you by the word of 
the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming 
of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the 
Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the 
yoice of an archangel, and with the trump of God ; and the 
dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we, which are alive and 
remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to 
meet the Lord in the air : and so shall we ever be with the Lord.' 

Nor is it justly liable to any objection. When, for instance, 
the same Apostle expresses himself, as 6 willing rather to be 
absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord,' it does 
not necessarily imply a personal interview immediately suc- 
ceeding his death. For if, while Christ's disciples continue in 
this sinful state, he could promise and say, ' lo, I am with you 
always, even unto the end of the world ;' much more will he 
be spiritually, though not corporeally, present with them, in 
the blessed mansions of paradise. Those mansions, where the 
soul of Lazarus is represented to have been carried by the an- 
gels, and where Abraham is described as the principal person- 
age, which could not have been true, had it been designed to 
convey the idea of heaven ; the heaven, where Christ was, and 
to whom, in this case, the rich man would have addressed him- 
self, rather than to a created intelligence. But according to 
the true construction, with great propriety is he spoken of, as 
pleading with the father of the faithful, and from him receiving 
the answers, which so thoroughly baffled all his hopes, whether 
relating to himself, or to the kindred he had left behind. 



277 



Let it also be remembered, that our views upon this subject 
materially vary from the Roman catholick notion of a purga- 
tory. For the papists arrange departed souls, into three distinct 
classes : One of which, being completely cleansed from all the 
defilements contracted in this life, ascend immediately to heav- 
en : Another, dying impenitent and guilty of mortal sins, are 
as quickly cast into hell : While the third, all of whom are 
eventually to be received up into glory, first require to be pu- 
rified from some venial sins, not sufficiently repented of here 
below ; and therefore the purgatory to which they are doomed 
for an indefinite period ; therefore the masses catholicks repeat 
for the repose of the dead, and their speedy enlargement, from 
a punitory .prison, to the. house not made with hands, which is 
eternal in the heavens. All this however, we are compelled 
to reject as a mere figment, unfounded in the scriptures, and 
diametrically opposed to the doctrine, which they deliver, de- 
scribing this life as the only state of probation ; requiring of 
every man to be here cleansed from all unrighteousness, and to 
become pure as God is pure, holy as God is holy ; and deter- 
mining the future irreversible doom of all, in this emphatick 
language, 6 he that is unjust, let him be unjust still : and he which 
is filthy, let him be filthy still : and he that is righteous, let him 
be righteous still : and he that is holy, let him be holy still.' 

Finally, brethren, I have to suggest, that the doctrine of an 
intermediate state should not be discarded on the ground of 
novelty, as it is peculiar to no age or country, nor to any 
protestant denomination. It is rather maintained, by all the 
great divines of our Church, from the time of Cranmer, to 
that of Horsley, and, notwithstanding the popular opinion, 
upon which I have animadverted, our learned dissenting breth- 
ren have not been averse from defending its scriptural au- 
thority, as may be seen in the writings of Doddridge, Watts, 
Campbell, and M'Knight of the presbvterian Church, and 
Wesley, and Adam Clarke of the methodist, with many oth- 
ers. There are indeed few truths, contained in the sacred 
volume, susceptible of clearer demonstration. Let us there- 

23* 



278 



fore unitedly bless the Lord our God, for the paradise he has 
been pleased to prepare, for the disimbodied souls of the 
righteous ; and under the soothing [conviction, that they are 
not to be consigned to a state of unconscious oblivion, in the 
interval between death and the resurrection, let us devoutly 
adopt the language of the sweet singer of Israel, and say, 
6 Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou 
hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward ; they can- 
not be reckoned up in order unto thee ; if I could declare and 
speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.' Aiosif. 



SERMON XVIII. , 

4 

isaiah Ixii. 1. 

For Zioris sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's 
sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth 
as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp thai 
burneth. 

In strict conformity with the vow or declaration recorded 
in the text, I have endeavoured, brethren, to present you with 
a compendious view, of the principal features of our venerable 
Church. Having made the vow my own, you must judge of 
the facts and arguments, which it has elicited, whether they 
have been true or false, strong or weak ; whether I have or 
have not succeeded, in giving a satisfactory account of our 
government and ministry, our institutions and worship, our 
leading doctrines and articles of religion. Forbearance has 
been long exercised. Controversy of every description has 
been studiously avoided, and nothing but the most solemn 
sense of duty could have induced me to deviate from a course, 
persisted in for years, and having for its foundation a sincere 
desire to ( live peaceably with all men.' 



279 



But while that desire is not in the slightest degree impaired ; 
while fully sensible that the servant of Jesus must not strive* 
I have yet dared to appear in defence of the truth ; I have 
yet dared, for Zion and Jerusalem's sake, to expose myself to 
the animadversions, I would fain deprecate. Not therefore 
in the spirit of chivalry ; not that I would gladly break a 
lance with any of our opposers, in some hard fought field of 
theology. For if the Apostle has exhorted all Christians in 
these terms, 6 leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, 
let us go on unto perfection ; not laying again the foundation 
of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of 
the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of 
resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment ; 3 you may 
easily conceive, that the Christian minister must feel no incon- 
siderable share of regret, at the necessity, which is frequently 
imposed upon him, of inculcating again and again the true scrip- 
tural views of these great and important topicks ; regret, owing 
to the existence of many gross and dangerous errours, and be- 
cause of the collisions to which it unavoidably subjects him. 

For even upon these elementary principles, the^clergy of 
the Church will find some one denomination or other to diffeT 
from, and none, that entirely concur with, her in sentiment. 
Many persons there are to assert the intrinsick merit of good 
works. The anabaptist contests the validity of infant bap- 
tism, and is equally adverse to sprinkling or affusion. The 
presbyterian, congregational, and most, if not all other pro- 
testant sects, are opposed to the laying on of hands in confir- 
mation. Upon the subject of the resurrection of the dead, 
we have not only to combat the infidel, but unhappily nominal 
Christians of every Church, who, if they do not absolutely 
disavow its certainty, are nevertheless extremely indifferent 
to its ulteriour consequences. And then in relation to an eter- 
nal judgment, it is well known, that the universalist professes 
an ardent attachment to the theory of final felicity ; to the 
eventual reception of the vilest sinner, into mansions of im- 
perishable glory. 



280 



It is therefore with unfeigned sorrow, that we are often 
forced to maintain ■ the first principles of the oracles of God,' 
rather than continually beseech you to * go on unto perfection,' 
as if thoroughly persuaded, that every professed believer was 
1 endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of 
peace,' by acknowledging, 1 there is one body, and one Spirit, 
even as ye are called in one hope of your calling : one Lord, 
one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, w 7 ho is 
above all, and through all, and in you all.' On the contrary, 
new sources of variance are perpetually unfolding themselves. 
When we administer the symbolized body and blood of Christ, 
we come in contact with the quaker, who rejects the visible 
celebration of this sacrament. When we invoke the influ- 
ences of the Holy Spirit, and rely upon one Lord and one 
mediator between God and man ; we are called in question by 
the unitarian, denying to the former all personality, and to the 
latter his eternal Sonship and Divinity. 

And still, brethren, surrounded as we are on every side, by 
these elements of hostility, there is nevertheless one consoling 
circumstance, through which, the picture I have drawn is in 
a great measure deprived of its gloomy and revolting features, 
so far at least as the personal feelings of Churchmen are con- 
cerned. Strange and paradoxical then, as it may appear to 
persons unaccustomed to an accurate analysis of systems, it is 
notwithstanding strictly true, that upon almost every principle 
cited from the Apostle, and every doctrine comprised in our 
articles, we have the satisfaction of knowing, that a vast ma- 
jority of the protestant world clearly coincide in sentiment 
with us. The reason is this. The different denominations 
cannot agree wherein the Church, they have abandoned, is 
wrong ; but dividing in their opinions, some are found to assail 
her on one quarter, and some on another. The consequence 
is, that she proves herself invulnerable upon all points, so far as 
numbers are permitted to test the credibility of her doctrines. 

And certainly, in the present case, numbers derive more 
than an ordinary weight of authority, from the consideration 



281 



of their shifting so perpetually, that in the issue, we gain the 
approbation of all parties to some one or other, of the promi- 
nent articles of our faith. The more orthodox concurring 
with us, in the weightier, and the residue only increasing the 
ratio of their respective distances, in proportion to the sum 
total of their multiplied errours and divisions, until at length 
they dwindle down, and imperceptibly blend with the friends 
and retainers of infidelity. 

For do we require the co-operation of others, in support 
of an holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity, three persons and 
one God ? We obtain the suffrages of the great body of that 
vast variety of small and discordant sects, which have sprung 
up, and gradually estranged themselves from the first presbyte- 
rian schism. Do we need assistance in defence of sprinkling 
and infant baptism ? Our auxiliaries are equally numerous, 
and unite their voices in opposition to a few baptists. Do we 
need additional strength in favour of the two sacraments of 
the gospel ? The baptist himself becomes our advocate, and 
fewer still are found to confide, in the disconnected inward 
excitements and spiritual repasts of the quaker. Do we insist 
upon the eternity of future punishments ? The quaker, in 
his turn, will not refuse us the authority of his creed, in expos- 
ing the dreamy confidence of the universalist. Do we uphold 
the doctrine of a vicarious sacrifice and atonement for sin ? 
We perceive the universalist, not merely joining our ranks ; 
but so fondly anxious for the salvation of good and bad, pen- 
itent and impenitent, as to exalt the divine oblation and pro- 
pitiation of Christ, to a height, at yet greater variance with 
the low estimation, in which he is held by the unitarian. Do 
we adhere to the authenticity and inspiration of the generally 
received canon of scripture ? Unitarians, for the most part, 
combine in aiding us to drive the infidel, from his puny shifts 
and miserable evasions. Do we 6 believe in God the FatheT 
Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible 
and invisible V Even the wretched infidel is here ready to 
tender us his ungracious hand, and assist in demolishing the 
baseless fabrick of atheism, if atheism there be. 



282 



How evident then, when we examine the Church on the one 
hand, and the seceders in a body on the other ; how evident, 
that these last are so exceedingly rent and divided in their op- 
position, that the aggregate of their testimony, upon every 
controverted doctrine, not peculiar to episcopalians, is deci- 
dedly in favour of the faith, we have so long and so religiously 
maintained. And what are the fair inferences to be gained 
from this brief review ? Before they can justly charge us with 
errours, they should first cultivate harmony in their own ranks ; 
they should first agree as to the nature of those errours, and 
cease to vibrate among themselves, one moment for us, and 
another against us, as our several principles and institutions 
become the successive objects of inquiry. Before they can 
justify their rejection of a valid episcopacy, and precomposed 
forms of prayer ; they should submit some system better adapt- 
ed to preserve Christians from the endless divisions and here- 
sies, to which their rejection has given birth. Before they 
can call upon us to renounce these two apostolick institutions, 
still retained by nineteen twentieths of the Christian world ; 
they should present us with unquestionable evidence, that their 
own renunciation has been greatly countenanced and blessed, 
by our Father in heaven. 

Such evidence can never be gathered from the sacred vol- 
ume. Their disjointed opposition, and the invisible Church 
for which they contend, as I have already reminded you, are 
far too obnoxious to this argument of our blessed Lord, 6 every 
kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolatiox ; and 
every city or house divided against itself shall xot staxd.' 
Nor can it be obtained from the records of ecclesiastical his- 
tory. The posterity of all those, who, at the period of the 
continental reformation, failed to reform in the visible Church 5 
who discarded the wheat with the tares, episcopacy and forms 
of prayer with the inventions of men, have almost invariably 
declined from the true faith of Christ ; and every subsequent 
schism has either followed the example, or is at this moment 
furnishing strong indications of being finally overwhelmed, in 
the same heretical vortex. 



283 



As the subject possesses a melancholy interest, and is worthy 
of our most serious consideration, I shall proceed to as brief 
an examination as is practicable. You must be sensible, that 
our Christian brethren are constantly adverting to their reli- 
gious prosperity, as infallible proof of the divine blessing be- 
ing poured out, upon their various Churches. The argument 
is plausible, and if limited to what may be discerned, at a 
given place and a given period, it would probably prove unan- 
swerable. But I would take a more enlarged view. I would 
not deny, but that many persons have been individually blessed, 
in a state of schism continued in through ignorance. Our Sav- 
iour accounts for it, where he says, i he that is not against us 
is for us.' Paul also observed, ' son. e indeed preach Christ even 
of envy and strife, and some also of good will/ He could 
not therefore have refrained from condemning the conduct of 
the former, and yet his conclusion is, ' notwithstanding, every 
way, whether in pretence, or in truth ; Christ is preached ; 
and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.' If envious 
and contentious preachers then were instrumental in doing 
some good, in the days of Paul, we need not be surprised at 
the successful preaching of some modern schismaticks ; we 
need not wonder, but have reason, after the manner of Paul, 
to rejoice in the certainty, that there are numbers of pious 
believers attending upon their ministry, who upon full convic- 
tion of being separated from Christ's mystical body, would 
gladly repair to it, and renounce all their prior prepossessions* 
Christians like these would therefore give to any society, call 
it by what name you please, a religious character, and so long 
as they survived, or their successois retained their principles, 
the Almighty would not fail to bless their personal efforts to 
run, in the way of his commandments. Little however does 
this avail to convince me, that he lias ever bestowed his bless- 
ing upon the cause of schism, as distinct from the individuals, 
who have undesignedly fallen into its embraces. It would be 
contrary to his word declaring, ; that there should be no schism 
in the body.' It would convert him into the God of disorder 



284 



instead of order, and including all the sectaries, of strife and 
hatred, of errour and every evil work, instead of peace and 
love, of truth and holiness. 

I shall therefore endeavour to persuade you, that this appa- 
rent religious prosperity, on the part of some of our seceding 
Churches, is not to be regarded, in the light of a permanent 
blessing from heaven. For this purpose, let us recur to the 
past, and connect it with the present, premising that I am not 
arguing with protestants generally, but with those of them, 
who are disposed to entertain the same sentiments with us, 
upon the prominent doctrines of the cross. Where then, I 
ask, was episcopacy first abandoned ? You have heard, that 
it was in Germany and Switzerland, and will remember, that 
the deviation was justified by the leading reformers, on the 
sole ground of necessity. And what have been the effects ? 
What great and glorious advantages have resulted to the 
present inhabitants of those countries, so distinguished in the 
annals of the protestant faith ? 

I am content, brethren, to submit their actual condition to 
the most orthodox of our opposers, and when it is known, you 
must be satisfied, that they would fain destroy this page, in the 
history of their Church. The anti-catholick part of Germany 
is, at this moment, completely subdued to the unitarian 
faith. There it is, that the presbyterian societies have yielded 
to what their brethren, in this country, would denounce as a 
most detestable heresy. There it is, that the most eminent 
divines of that school have had their origin ; and from thence 
it is, that their works have been dispersed throughout the 
protestant world, enjoying the highest reputation with all, for 
their critical acumen, and with many, for their liberal theol- 
ogy. It reminds me of the declaration of Melancthon, before 
quoted, 6 1 would to God it lay in me to restore the govern- 
ment of bishops. For I see what manner of Church we shall 
have, the ecclesiastical polity being dissolved.' He antici- 
pated tyranny, but it has eventuated, in what he would have 
considered infinitely worse than tyranny. 



285 

And do not the same principles triumph, in Switzerland ? 
Where are the presbyterian Churches founded by Calvin, at 
Geneva ? Nearly all with their branches have become unita- 
rian. Scarcely one of them has escaped the infection, Long 
ago, Rousseau triumphantly remarked, 6 The pastors of Geneva 
are asked if Jesus Christ is God : they dare not answer. They 
are asked what mysteries they admit : they dare not answer. 
A philosopher casts upon them a haughty glance ; he sees 
through them ; he discovers them to be Arians, Socinians ; he 
proclaims it, and thinks that he does them honour. Immedi- 
ately alarmed, terrified, they assemble, they consult, they are 
agitated ; they know not what saint to call upon ; and after 
manifold consultations, deliberations, conferences, the whole 
terminates in a nonplus, in which is neither said, yes, nor no.' 

But Rousseau, like Voltaire, who bore similar testimony, was 
an arch-infidel, whose malignant exultation requires to be 
corroborated by unexceptionable evidence ; and unhappily we 
have it, in the person of dr Raffles, a very distinguished dis- 
senting clergyman of England, who visited Geneva, in the year 
eighteen hundred and seventeen. Speaking of this city, he 
says, < The shortness of our stay did not allow us, indeed, to 
see any of its society ; and the information, I had previously 
obtained of the state of religion, was not such as to excite 
in my mind very exalted expectations of pleasure from that 
source. Few of the doctrines, and little of the spirit, which 
once rendered it the glory of the protestant world now remain: 
and that truth, which was asserted and maintained by Calvin, 
a name to which the city of Geneva is more indebted for its 
celebrity than to the grandeur of its scenery, the beauties of 
its lake, or the stern character of its ancient independence, 
has scarcely an asylum within its walls. The pastors of its 
Churches are almost to a man, Arians, or Socinians. A 
few, perhaps, may cherish the genuine principles of the refor- 
mation, and feel their influence. I know, indeed, that this is 
the case, but they bear no proportion to the majority, who are 
sunk in infidelity and skepticism, and can do but little towards 

24 



286 



the diffusion of that divine light, and the spread of that glori- 
ous gospel, by the resuscitating energy of which, the Church 
of Geneva may again awake from the philosophick dreams of 
infidelity, and emulate the zeal, the piety, and the simplicity 
of former times.' 

Out of the mouth of an adversary, we are therefore enabled 
to prove the pernicious tendency of the presbyterian system. 
It has failed, eminently failed, in the very place it was first 
brought into existence. There indeed, as I have learnt from 
an eyewitness, the sabbath has become in the popular sense a 
holy-day, being principally devoted to recreation and pleasure, 
to the games and sports of the season. And does this look, 
as if God had blessed the innovations of schism ? Can pro- 
testants, embracing similar views of the divine character of 
their Saviour, and of the solemnities to be observed upon the 
sacred day, arrive at this conclusion ? It is impossible. We 
may and we ought to cherish kind and benevolent feelings 
towards all the members of the human family ; but not to the 
extent of countenancing the errours of their faith, or the obli- 
quities of their practice. 

Passing from the continent to England, the scene is not 
materially changed. The persecution of Mary drove many of 
the reformers abroad, and when they returned, on the acces- 
sion of Elizabeth, some of them began to propagate the Gen- 
eva system of doctrine and government. Zealous and ardent 
in the cause, they at length obtained the ascendency. Before 
the death of the first Charles, presbyterianism had supplanted 
the established Church, and a fair experiment was made of its 
capacity to promote the cause of the Redeemer, 

I will give you the result in the language of Edwards, one 
of its warmest advocates, and to his death far from being in* 
structed by the evils, it had been instrumental in producing ; 
evils that, in his address to the existing rulers, he thus freely 
condemns ; 6 You have done worthily against papists, prelates, 
and scandalous ministers, in casting down images, altars, 
crucifixes, throwing out ceremonies, Sic. but what have you 



287 



done against heresy, schism, disorder, against seekers, ana- 
baptists, antinomians, brownists, libertines, and other sects ? 
You have made a reformation, but with the reformation have 
we not worse things come upon us than we had before, as 
denying the scriptures, pleading for toleration of all religions 
and worships ; yea, for blasphemy, and denying there is a God? 
You have put down the common prayer, and there are many 
among us, that are for putting down the scriptures. You have 
broken the images of the Trinity, and we have those who 
oppose the Trinity. You have cast out bishops and their 
officers, and we have many that cast down to the ground all 
ministers. You have cast out ceremonies in the sacrament, 
as the cross, kneeling at the Lord's supper, and many cast out 
the sacraments themselves. You have put down saints' days, 
and many make nothing of the Lord's day. You have taken 
away the superfluous maintenance of bishops and deans, and 
we have many that cry down the necessary maintenance of 
ministers, in the bishops' days we had singing of psalms 
taken away in some places, conceived prayer, preaching, and 
in their room anthems, stinted forms, and reading brought in, 
and now singing of psalms is spoken against, publick prayer 
questioned, and all ministerial preaching denied. In the bish- 
ops' time popish innovations were introduced, as bowing at 
altars, &lc. and now we have anointing the sick with oil ; 
then we had bishoping of children, now we have bishoping of 
men and women, by laying on of hands. In the bishops' days 
we had the fourth commandment taken away, and now all 
ten are taken away by the antinomians. The worst of the 
prelates held many sound doctrines, and had many commend- 
able practices, but many of our sectaries deny all principles 
of religion, are enemies to all holy duties, order, learning, 
overthrowing all.' 

Yes, brethren, you are here presented with the thoughts of 
a celebrated presbyterian divine, describing circumstances, 
which transpired under his own observation. And does this 
look as if God had blessed the introduction of schism in Eng- 



288 



land ? To me, it wears an entirely different aspect. To me, 
the rapid organization at that time of about sixty different 
sects, many of them the most loose in principle and in con- 
duct, clearly indicates, that when its floodgates are once 
opened, there is not wanting all manner of heresy to threaten 
the destruction of every thing sacred, and every thing divine. 
Even at this day, where is it that unitarianism flourishes, in 
the land of our fathers ? I answer, where the liturgy is dis- 
carded, and ministerial parity is maintained. Buchanan, a 
man not to be suspected, as you may readily suppose, of speak- 
ing without authority ; Buchanan tells us, that ' the presbyte- 
rians, in the west of England, and some other sects,' 6 are said 
to have become Arians and Socinians to a man.' 

And need T inform you, that in our own country, they have 
long since made their appearance, and broached their doc- 
trines among the descendants of the puritans ; that they have 
appropriated to themselves the first of our literary institutions ; 
and that they are every day becoming more and more popular 
with those, that exclaim against our Church, her ministry and 
her worship ? Mistake not however the nature of this argu- 
ment. I do not mean to abuse unitarians. For many of them, 
I entertain a very sincere and cordial esteem, and though I 
cannot concur in their opinions, thinking them extremely dan- 
gerous and fatal ; yet are they not amenable to me, yet must 
I leave them to be judged of Him, who judgeth righteous judg- 
ment. But when I am told, that the seceding Churches are 
eminently blessed of God, I adduce these facts, and appeal to 
the orthodox of every denomination, fairly and dispassionately 
to weigh them, having their understandings enlightened, and 
their consciences probed. 

And are they not facts ? Is it not true, that wherever the 
presbyterian polity has been long introduced, it has invariably 
proved the entering wedge to innumerable divisions and here- 
sies ; to those mentioned by Edwards ; to those which charac- 
terize our own age, and even our own neighbourhood ? Upon 
this subject, are we not merely to examine the present stato 



289 



of the Church technically called presbyterian, but all those 
that have gone astray under the auspices of her ministerial 
parity and extemporaneous worship ; and that, still adhering 
to these modern inventions, have the same valid title to the 
epithet presbyterian ? Undoubtedly, brethren, such is our 
proper course, and when pursued, it reveals all these, as so 
many facts impossible to be successfully denied or repelled. 
Far be it then from our Church to be blessed in this manner. 
We desire not to thank the Lord Most High, for any such 
changes in the system of truth and order, to which We are 
attached. In mercy he has hitherto withheld them, and in 
mercy may he continue to withhold. 

There is not a single protestant episcopal Church upon the 
face of the earth, where heretical doctrines are either intro- 
duced into its creed, or permitted to be inculcated from its 
pulpits ; and the peculiar character of our institutions is such, 
as to afford the surest guarantee, that they never will. Our 
bishops constitute the first barrier against them. Compara- 
tively few in number, and consecrated at an age, when their 
judgments are mature, and their principles are known to be 
firmly established, they are not likely to be tossed to and fro, 
by every wind of doctrine ; they are not likely to experience a 
material change in sentiment ; and contrary to all modern ex- 
ample, one or more of them must change, before our episco- 
pacy can be conveyed to the promoters of any heresy. 

Our invaluable liturgy is another and invincible barrier, 
against the introduction of the more dangerous errours. For 
what would a congregation think of that minister, who, after 
addressing the throne of grace in the words, i O God the Son, 
Redeemer of the world :' i O holy, blessed, and glorious Trini- 
ty, three persons and one God and repeating the prayer to 
be delivered from God's wrath and everlasting damnation f 
What would they think of him, if, after this, he were to deliv- 
er a discourse controverting these solemn truths, and attributing 
their present existence to the weakness and superstition of a 

former age ? You must admit that no congregation could 

24* 



290 



possibly endure him ; they could not countenance such flagrant 
inconsistency. And hence among other things the value of 
our liturgy; hence the seal of silence, it imposes upon lips, 
that might otherwise prove reprobate concerning the faith. 
Our inferiour clergy, as well as others, may be hypocrites and 
dissemblers with God ; but so long as they continue to minis- 
ter at our altars, they cannot publickly decry the doctrines 
recognised in our forms of prayer. They must first leave us, 
and if they leave, not having episcopal authority, they cannot 
build up a heterodox episcopal Church. 

Not so however with our presbyterian clergy of any denom- 
ination : Their extemporary prayers may be accommodated 
to any opinions, and should those opinions cause the dissolution 
of their connexion with a particular sect, they can still prop- 
agate them in another, with the same supposed right to ordain 
successors in the ministry, that they enjoyed before. A cir- 
cumstance, which I consider as a very material defect in their 
system, when compared with our own. With us, the liturgy 
alone is an admirable preservative, against the inroads of 
schism- They have none, and to adopt the exclamation of the 
celebrated missionary to the Indies, ( Wo to the declining 
Church which hath no gospel liturgy !' 'With us, the ordina- 
tion of a bishop, is essential. With them, there is the like 
authority vested in all their ministers, and this has been, and 
is. the fruitful source, from which all the Churches corrupt in 
doctrine, have obtained their pastors. This is the reason, 
that while they have been uniformly restrained to presbyters 
in rank ; they have not had it in their power to boast of a single 
bishop having united himself to either of their communions. 
The inference is obvious. So far as heretical opinions have 
found their way into the reformed Churches, we have had no 
agency in their introduction. The fault lies at another door. 
Not one of them is episcopal. They are all presbyterian, in 
their external features. They have no other than a presbyte- 
rian ministry. They are indeed as universally opposed to 
bishops, as their more orthodox brethren, and freely unite with 



291 



them in denouncing the office, as one of the relicks of Roman 
usurpation. And most willing are we to bear the reproach ; 
most clearly do we discern, in our freedom from all the blame* 
worthiness connected with the origin and continued existence 
<rf their errours, that God has deigned to bless his true apo&- 
tolick Church with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. 

I know not, brethren, what value you may attach to these 
considerations, but with me, they possess an intrinsick weight 
and importance, which I could wish to have presented, in a 
yet stronger light. Not that I would detract from the person- 
al piety of others, not that I would charge, upon the present 
members of a particular Church, all the evils, to which your 
attention has been directed. It would be equally absurd and 
unjust. It would betray a spirit equally illiberal and mali- 
cious. And yet, to the system embraced by their spiritual 
forefathers, I am forced to attribute the vast variety of sects, 
with their attendant errours. which now deform the face of 
Christendom, and mar the otherwise transcendent beauty and 
simplicity of the protestant faith. 

If wrong, I am deceived by a long series of events, that it 
is impossible for me to interpret, in a different manner. If right, 
then it is but too certain, that our Christian friends are far 
from having been blessed, to the extent they imagine, in the 
persevering support of their ecclesiastical polity. They may 
examine their own hearts, and as true believers in Christ desir- 
ous of promoting his glory, and their own salvation, they may 
enjoy a large amount of real felicity. They may contemplate 
the local communion to which they belong, and perceiving it 
to abound with congenial spirits, they may from this circum- 
stance derive an additional fund of gratification. But let them 
look abroad, where their beloved Church once flourished, alike 
fair and beauteous to the eye, arid i how is the gold become 
dim ! how is the most fine gold changed ! ; Let them antici- 
pate the coming of a few r more years, and the same defective 
system may produce even here the same disastrous results. 
Let them now cast their eyes around, and although they may 



292 



have reason to be thankful, for their individual attainments in 
religion, yet must they be dissatisfied with the general pros- 
pect ; yet would I ask them, if numbers of their fellow men 
may not be involved ' in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond 
of iniquity/ owing to those numerous defections from the 
primitive Church, to which their own has been proved to have 
led the way ? 

It is by broad and extended, and not by narrow and limited 
views, that they should determine the great question, whether 
they have or have not been blessed of God. It is, by inquiring, 
not of their prejudices, but at the tribunal of their consciences, 
What would in all probability have been the existing state of 
the Redeemer's kingdom, had there been from the dawn of the 
reformation, no schism and no heresy ? I can easily conceive, 
that it would have been infinitely more flourishing, more 
thronged with the faithful and penitent, and therefore more 
adorned with grace and glory. They may not credit it. They 
may think their discernment more acute, their judgment less 
liable to err, and may continue in these opinions, until tire 
curtain falls, and the truth is ascertained in a quarter, from 
which there is no appeal. For one, I am content to abide 
the issue, by remaining where I am. I desire no more au- 
thentick testimony to convince me, that however unworthy of 
the honour, it is in the bosom of the Church, founded by Christ 
and his Apostles. If any other could be proved to have done 
more worthily, to have embraced purer doctrines, to have ex- 
hibited greater devotion to our common Lord, to have enjoined 
upon its members a closer walk in all holy obedience, or to 
have received higher evidences of the divine blessing resting 
upon it ; I would not hesitate to enter its sanctuary, and de- 
clare myself of its communion. But persuaded by a long 
course of reading ; persuaded by personal experience and ob- 
servation, of its utter impracticability, here will I live, and 
here will I die, blessing God for his unspeakable benefits, and 
commending my own, and the souls of all my fellow men, into 
the safe keeping of the holy Jesus. Ahes. 



293 



SERMON XIX. • 

isaiah lxii. 1. 

For Zion's sake ivill I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's 
sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth 
as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp thai 
burneth. 

To the argument already presented, unfolding, as I appre- 
hend, in a very conclusive manner, the evils flowing from the 
first presbyterian schism, it may be added, that the variety of 
opinions which prevail amongst protestants, upon the subject of 
revealed religion, has proved a serious obstacle to its general 
reception. When invited to accept the gospel of Christ, men 
are extremely apt to reply ; You Christians differ so much, 
and in some instances so materially, in relation to its princi- 
ples, that we of the world scarcely know what to believe, and 
of course what to embrace. On the one hand, the trinitarian 
system demands our assent, and on the other, the unitarian. 
Here, some zealous Calvinist enforces the doctrine of God's 
predestination of whatsoever comes to pass, and there, the 
equally zealous Arminian denies the dogma, and earnestly 
contends for the free and uncontrolled agency of the human 
will. Here, the pulpit resounds with the sentence of eternal 
reprobation pronounced against the wicked, and there, the 
soft cheering voice of universal pardon and forgiveness salutes 
the ear, and anticipates the final entrance of every soul of 
man, within the blissful regions of life and immortality. And 
so the contrast might be run through the thousand variant and 
opposing doctrines, which disturb the peace and harmony of 
Christendom. We would fain learn the truth, inasmuch as 
we are told, that the truth shall make us free. But when the 
learned and talented disagree ; when the hand, and tongue, and 



294 



pen of every man are lifted against his neighbour ; When 
polemick divinity has usurped the empire of reason, and 
thrown a veil of darkness and uncertainty over the records of 
inspiration ; Who shall decide ? Who resolve the doubts, 
that force themselves upon the inquiring mind ? Who serve 
as a pioneer to clear away the rubbish from before the eye of 
faith, and put us in possession of the sure word of prophecy, 
the genuine and uncorrupted oracles of God ? 

Yes, brethren, this is the common language of mankind, 
the familiar argument, with which many justify their delin- 
quency, in not taking up the cross of Christ. Their vision is 
distracted, their thoughts perplexed, their understanding dark- 
ened. As if placed at the extremity of the subterranean lab- 
yrinth of Arsinoe, where no less than twelve palaces, and three 
thousand chambers, by their intricate windings, confounded 
every attempt to revisit the busy haunts of men, they imagine 
themselves lost in a spiritual labyrinth of conjectures, without 
a clew to retrievement, without a cynosure, the shining of one 
bright and brilliant star, to guide them in safety and in honour, 
to the destined port of heaven. 

I feel the plausibility, more than the plausibility, I feel the 
weight of this train of reasoning ; it bears hard upon us ; in 
our present divided state, there is no little difficulty in giving 
it such an answer, as shall prove satisfactory to the more in- 
tellectual portion of the community. But were all orthodox 
Christians united, in the one true Church of Christ, were the 
fundamental truths of inspiration only to be found within her 
pale, and not entertained in common with a single sectarian 
denomination, we might with far greater ease repel the argu- 
ment, and effectually put down the crest of skepticism of this de- 
scription. We might not indeed agree upon the merely specu- 
lative topicks of divinity, about the divine decrees for instance ; 
but then we might assert with invincible force what is even 
now true, that upon such subjects there is room for honest 
diversity of sentiment, when the nature and character of that 
revelation is considered, which alone justly claims to be divine. 



I 

295 

You can scarcely fail to remember that Peter himself speak- 
ing of the epistles of his beloved brother Paul* expressly says, 
' in which are some things hard to be understood.' And with- 
out entering into a minute investigation of the particular points 
alluded to, I am content to inquire in general terms, if there 
is any good and valid reason to object to this partial obscurity, 
designedly, if you please, investing the inspiration of heaven ? 
Are there not two volumes containing all things material for 
us to know and understand ? That fair volume, wherein our 
great Creator shines pre-eminent in power and glory ; wherein 
his voice, as the voice of many waters, is heard amid the strife 
of elements, and his goodness, richer than mines of gold, is 
seen to float upon every breeze, and sparkle in every ray of 
light ; to descend in the shower, and rise with the verdure* 
that cheers, enlivens, and sustains the heart of man ? That 
brighter and more glorious volume, ,wherein the soul is taught 
its value and its powers, its august creation in the image of 
God, and its future destiny, wiien, after being, in the prison 
of this world, brooded and quickened by the Holy Spirit, it 
shall eventually burst 4 yon ambient, azure shell, 5 and tread 
the courts of heaven ? 

Inquire then, at the shrine of nature, and can ye unfold her 
secrets, the precise manner in which she performs her cunning 
work ? How the sun repairs his rays, or the diamond acquires 
its crystal hue ? How the minutest atoms of the air, the ocean, 
and the land conspire to bring forth all, that is beautiful to 
the eye, and gratifying to the taste ? No, no, you can do no 
such thing. There is here a limit to the deepest research, a 
point beyond which the 'inquiry of the proudest intellect is 
completely baffled. You cannot satisfy yourselves ; you can- 
not control the faith of others. And is this universally admit- 
ted ? Is it proved beyond a doubt by innumerable theories, 
contradicting each other at every turn, and producing as many 
schools in philosophy, as were ever marshalled in the province 
of theology ; how could the skeptick wonder, should orthodox 
Christians of the same Church differ, on the purely speculative 
concerns of divinity ? 



296 

Our blessed Saviour did not manifest the like emotions of 
surprise, in his nocturnal interview with Nicodemus. He 
rather knew too well the infirmity of the human mind, and 
addressed him thus, * if I have told you earthly things, and ye 
believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly 
things V Even his own inspired Apostles did not always agree, 
or why the controversy between Peter and Paul, upon the 
subject of circumcision ? And so with real, genuine, unaf- 
fected believers, they might continue to vary as they now do, 
in their construction of numerous passages of the scriptures, 
not essential to be understood in their remote causes and 
relations, and upon which a diversity of views would be far 
from working death eternal ; since it might be always traced 
to the mere fallibility of the human mind, and instead of ex- 
hibiting a wanton rejection of the divine counsels and author- 
ity, it would only show, that were they perfectly clear and 
unveiled in such particulars, not one sound of intellectual 
discord would be heard, within the pale of the true Zion ; in 
every thing, her altars would be distinguished for concord, as 
well as for love. She would be one and undivided upon the 
prominent doctrines. Unanimity would be her motto, and 
her emblem, the full, free, and undistinguished communion of 
the faithful followers of Jesus. 

Even now, I grant, that the divided opinions of Christians 
ought to present no insurmountable obstacles, to a practical 
reception of the gospel. J grant it, from the consideration, 
that all, who really deserve the name, unite in the essentials 
of our common faith. If St Peter tells us of Paul's epistles, 
that they contain ' some things hard to be understood/ he still 
reminds us of the character of those, upon whom this obscurity 
exerts a pernicious influence. These are his words, < which 
they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the 
other scriptures, unto their own destruction.' And what is 
wresting, but perverting to improper uses ? What is intended 
bv the epithet unlearned, but being ignorant of the great prin- 
ciples of the doctrine of Christ ? What, by the term unstable, 



297 



but being tossed to and fro, by every wind of doctrine ? What 
is the extent of this perversion, this ignorance, this instability? 
Men of this description wrest not merely the language and 
the reasonings of St Paul, but also of the other scriptures to 
their own destruction. They come not to their study with 
reverence and docility ; with submissive minds ready to be 
informed and guided, by the teachings of the Spirit ; with 
open hearts prepared to honour and receive with meekness 
the ingrafted word. They rather come as captious criticks 
and conceited sciolists, determined to array their own intel- 
lects, their own reason, their own w 7 isdom, against the intel- 
lect, the reason, and the wisdom of God. What more then 
can we expect of such vain and arrogant pretenders, but that 
they should always dwell on mysteries ; that they should cavil 
about ' the secret things,' which 6 belong to the Lord our God,' 
and stumble over those which, the prophet tells us, 6 are re- 
vealed and belong unto us and our children forever ?' 

It is certainly thus with all the determined skepticks of our 
age. They perplex and weary themselves w 7 ith subjects far 
beyond the ken of the proudest intellect ; w 7 hile many possess- 
ing a nominal faith are too apt, as it is written, to be 4 proud, 
knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of 
words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, 
perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of 
the truth, supposing that gain is godliness.' Whereas true 
Christians have ever repaired to the study of holy oracles, 
with the sole object of ascertaining the inspiration of their 
origin, and the divinity of their Author. And having satisfied 
themselves, upon these all important particulars ; having found 
Him, whom their souls loved, they have bowed with reverence 
to his sceptre, and faithfully treasured up in their hearts all 
those sayings and doings, which are too clear and explicit to be 
otherwise than ignorantly or presumptuously misunderstood. 

If any man insists, that our future condition is foreordained 
without foresight of faith and obedience ; they know, that the 
righteous, and the righteous only, are predestinated to life 

25 



293 



eternal. If it is said, that a few sighs and tears, heaved and 
shed in a dying hour, will always ensure the divine pardon and 
forgiveness ; they know, that an early repentance, bringing 
forth for a long time fruits meet for repentance, will assuredly 
be followed by the salvation of the soul. If a knowledge of 
the precise instant, when the heart is changed and the affec- 
tions purified, is deemed an indispensable prerequisite to the 
Christian character ; they know, that 6 the wind bloweth where 
it listeth, and thou nearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell 
whence it coineth, and whither it goeth : so is every one that 
is born of the Spirit and that to be born of the Spirit, no 
matter when or where, is the all momentous evidence of our 
having made our peace with God. If a hue and cry is raised 
against faith on the one hand, or against works on the other ; 
they know, that wherever the gospel is preached, both com- 
bined are absolutely essential, in order to enable us to lay 
hold upon its most precious promises. If the character and 
the redemption of Christ are controverted, as to his divinity 
and the vicarious nature of his sacrifice : they know, that the 
question is asked and answered by St John, 4 Who is a liar, 
but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ I He is anti- 
christ, that denieth the Father and the Son, Whosoever 
denieth the Son, the. same hath not the Father they know, 
in whom they have believed, and only look for the mercy of 
God unto eternal life, through the merits and obedience, the 
sufferings, death, and atonement for sin of Him. who. through- 
out the pages of inspiration, is commended to our faith and 
love, as the Saviour of the world, as possessing the only i name 
under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved/ 
Yes, brethren, ask the pious and the godly in this world, 
those, whom you could not hesitate to pronounce sincere, 
faithful, and practical Christians, and they will all concur in 
the belief of these great ant? glorious truths. Differing, as they 
do, about many questions upon things, for them too high, and 
even in as favourable an opinion of each other as could be 
wished, they will yet universally coincide in these carding 



299 



features of the gospel, and pronounce of all, who maintain 
and conscientiously act upon them, that they are the true chil- 
dren of God, and the inheritors of the kingdom of heaven. 
Notwithstanding minor discrepancies in opinion, notwithstand- 
ing what I believe to be honest shades of difference, in the 
interpretation of obscure passages of the sacred volume, I can 
therefore, upon such ground, urge all men to embrace these 
fundamental principles of Christianity, and so embrace them, 
that according to the Apostle, ' being made free from sin, and 
become servants to God,' they may have their 6 fruit unto ho- 
liness, and the end everlasting life.' 

Even now, I can enforce the same result from the consid- 
eration, that however Christians, whether nominal or real, 
may disagree about the import of the bible, it still contains 
the words of truth and soberness. I will explain my meaning, 
and the use to which I intend to apply it, by illustrations 
drawn from the mysteries of nature. Philosophers have en- 
tertained different opinions about light and heat, about grav- 
itation and magnetic!* attraction, about the cause of the tides, 
and the reason of the earth's revolving round the sun, in an 
elliptical rather than a circular orbit. But let them speculate 
and decide as they please ; let us range ourselves on the one 
side or the other of their numerous theories, it must still be 
evident to the most superficial observer, that all these opera- 
tions of nature exist ; that light is pleasant to the eyes, and 
warmth exhilarating to the body ; that let the exact centre and 
principle of gravity or magnetism be ever so uncertain, heavy 
substances are still drawn to the surface of the earth, and the 
needle in the direction of the pole ; that the tides of the ocean 
still ebb and flow, with their accustomed regularity ; and that 
our planet still performs its annual course, producing, with its 
obliquity to the ecliptick, the seasons and their change. And 
why ? The discordant opinions of philosophers effect no al- 
teration in the established laws and properties of matter. 
Nature remains the same, whether they continue or abandon 
their experiments, whether they penetrate her secret recesses, 
or are forced to loiter in her vestibule. 



300 



So also in relation to the religion of the bible ; Is it in real- 
ity the word and the will of God ; the revelation of his own 
glorious attributes and perfections ; the counsel of his wisdom, 
in whatever relates to our duty towards him, our neighbour, 
and ourselves ? Let men construct ever so many variant 
creeds ; let them go on denouncing each other for bigots and 
ools, with a hundred times the zeal and impetuosity, they are 
now prone to indulge, and still, within the lids of that precious 
volume, there will remain the imperishable truths of heaven ; 
they cannot mar them by their intellectual combats ; they can- 
rr5t, as our Saviour says, ' make one hair' of their heads ' white 
or black ;' how much more then shall they not fail to change 
the unchangeable flat of Omnipotence, by presuming to ' put 
darkness for light, and light for darkness. 5 To attempt it, is 
indeed the height of folly, the most extravagant of all the ex- 
travagant absurdities of which humanity is susceptible. We 
might as well hope to move the earth by our tread, or to blow 
out the lights of the firmament with our feeble breath. Against 
the bible, as against the Church, the gates of hell shall not 
prevail. We have the power, the honour, and the veracity of 
God to sustain it, and the consequence is, that, long after 
creation shall return to the original void out of which it was 
spoken into existence, its truths, its good tidings of good, shall 
accompany the spirits of just men made perfect to those bless- 
ed mansions, where in the presence of the Father of Lights, 
there will be no errours to distract, no discrepancies of senti- 
ment to reconcile, no voice of discord to interrupt the harmony 
of congenial souls. 

And now I ask you, what is the fair, the only honest infer- 
ence to be gathered from a statement clear, obvious, and 
convincing as this ? Trouble yourselves less and less about 
the doctrines and opinions of others. By your own, are ye 
to stand or fall in the day of judgment. Remember the words 
of Christ, reproving the anxiety of Peter to fathom the future 
destiny of John, 6 What is that to thee? Follow thou me.' 
6 Search the scriptures ; for in them ye think ye have eternal 



301 



life ; and they are they which testify of me.' If it were possi- 
ble to enter into heaven, under the wing of some highly gifted 
mortal, ye might do well to consult him as your oracle, to bend 
your own to his interpretation of the word, and yield implicit 
reliance where reliance would be justly due. But as it is, 
when the soul that sinneth, it shall die, when the man that 
errs, he alone shall account for his errours, I entreat you to 
take the bible into your own hands, and to peruse it as for the 
life of your souis, rather than with impressions weakened by 
the clashing opinions of others, were they infinitely more re- 
(I pugnant and contradictory than they are. You cannot peruse 
it long, provided you accompany that perusal with earnest 
prayer to God for the illumination and guidance of his Spirit, 
without perceiving, that its more momentous truths lie within 
a narrow compass ; that they speak plainly and directly to the 
heart ; and that it is impossible to withstand them, without 
experiencing self-reproach and self-condemnation. Whereas 
the slightest yielding is the commencement of that good work, 
which God hath promised not to leave unfinished. It is the 
incipient movement of the giant, faith, to cast off the shackles, 
that confine you to the servitude of sin : of that faith, which, 
as its power increases, and its liveliness improves, accelerates 
in the same ratio its ascending march, until proceeding from 
strength to strength, it at length produces, 6 the work of right- 
eousness,' which 6 shall be peace ; and the effect of righteous- 
ness, quietness and assurance forever.' 

And then, what will ye care, for the harsh, incongruous 
notes of polemick divinity ? What will ye care, if opposing 
sectarians prefer, that the weapons of their warfare should be 
4 carnal,' and not 6 mighty through God to the pulling down of 
strong holds ?' Ye will indeed weep over their errours ; ye 
will pray God to remove their blindness and asperity, and to 
implant within them 6 a new heart and a new spirit.' But if 
they yet persist to fold the shadow and cast away the substance 
of religion, their speculative controversies will prove lighter 
in your estimation than the dust of the balance, instead of 

25* 



302 



furnishing the smallest pretext, for abandoning the service of 
your God and Saviour, for apostatizing from his word of life, 
and renouncing the riches of his grace. 

Nor must I omit to mention, that even now, I can prove the 
exceeding folly of being induced to neglect religion, owing to 
the distracted opinions of its professors, by adverting to the 
fact, that this circumstance affords no refuge to the sinner, 
when the snares of death encompass him around ; when smit- 
ten by the hand of the Lord, and stretched upon the bed of 
languishment, he feels, and trembles as he feels, that a few 
hours will terminate his mortal strife, and dismiss his soul to 
its long and dread account. For in this exigency, provided 
reason retains her empire, to what topicks of divinity does he 
bend the listening ear, on what rely, as embracing within the 
narrowest scope the essence of the one thing needful. Talk 
to him abo^it the technicks of theology, those abstruse and 
metaphysical questions to which I have referred, and which 
from the time of Calvin have been the fertile sources of much 
of that ill omened hostility and uncharitableness, so prone to 
rankle in the bosom of the mere religionist, and you broach a 
set of themes, that appear no better than a mockery to his 
alarmed, despairing soul. Talk to him even about the minor 
truths of Christianity, and they are entirely incompetent to 
compose his fluttering thoughts and faltering heart. I do not 
mean by this to depreciate their real, intrinsick value, in the sea- 
son of health and vigour. But still, what are they to the poor 
sinner, in the very act of shaking hands with death, compared 
with the higher and more experimental doctrines of religion ?, 

Alas, brethren, the time has become too contracted, and 
therefore too precious, to be lavished in their discussion. He 
wants to learn the nature of that repentance, whereby he may 
conciliate the divine mercy and forgiveness, through Christ. 
He wants to listen to some scriptural views of that faith, 
whereby he may yet range himself beneath the banner of Je- 
sus, and cast all his cares, all the sad and intolerable burden 
of his sins, at the foot of the Redeemer's cross. He wants to 



303 



hear explained the few remaining tests left to persons in his 
condition, whereby through earnest self-examination, he may 
investigate the state of his soul, and ascertain what prospects 
float before his eyes, what hopes he may cherish, what internal 
demonstrations he may have, that God has been very good and 
gracious to him, that the wounds of his peace are healed, and 
the avenue opened to his future enjoyment of the blissful pre- 
sence of his God. 

He wants to hear of these, and of nothing else. These are 
the themes, the only themes fitted to engross the thoughts, and 
chain down the attention, of the dying sinner. And oh, what 
contempt do they not pour upon the larger number of those 
contests of words, those heart-burnings of envy, and jealousy, 
and malice, which divide and embroil the professed followers 
of the Lamb. Bear witness, ye that are now in paradise. Ye 
cannot communicate your minds to us, but we know as cer- 
tainly, as if they were plainly revealed and submitted to our 
inspection, that ye are amazed at the retrospect of those enor- 
mous trifles, in which ye were once partially engaged, and to 
which men are now so prone to devote the chief labour of their 
hands and hearts. Bear witness, ye also, that are doomed to 
dwell in the reverse of paradise. The secrets of your dread 
habitation are alike incommunicable to us, but with equal 
certainty do we know, that ye would give the wealth of worlds, 
had ye never stumbled upon that mountain of calamity and 
ruin, the wretched, miserable contentions to which the gospel 
of peace has been perverted ; had ye remained uninfluenced 
by these convulsions, and prepared yourselves, by a cordial 
reception and practice of more heavenly things, to appear 
among the redeemed in Zion, with songs and everlasting joy 
upon your heads. 

Allow me therefore, brethren, to entreat you to profit, by 
these easily to be imagined disclosures proceeding from the 
world to come. While here below, liable to be enticed, and 
drawn aside by the metaphysical collisions of Christians, there 
are unquestionably 6 some things hard to be understood, which 



304 



they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also 
the other scriptures unto their own destruction.' But remem- 
ber, that were it possible to gain the most accurate knowledge 
of their true nature and character, they are of a description 
not calculated to advance our progress a single step, towards 
the attainment of the joys and immunities of heaven. Re- 
member that the goodness, the mercy, the justice, and the 
righteousness of God, all of them forbid the idea, that he 
should wrap in obscurity, or seclude in mystery, one particle 
of that truth, which it would be life for us to know, and death, 
eternal death, not to understand. So far from this, 1 light is 
sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. 5 
According to the faithful and true Witness, 4 this is life eter- 
nal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus 
Christ, whom thou hast sent.' Not however, to the extent of 
prying out and resolving ail his ways ; although even here 
there is something analogous to what painters term the t clare- 
obscure,' enabling us to see as through a glass darkly, some 
faint and glimmering rays of the glory, which shall be reveal- 
ed. But still enough to know, that he is our Maker and 
Preserver, the Author of all present and future happiness, our 
reconciled God and Father in Jesus Christ, the God, who has 
promised to reward the obedient, and to punish the transgres- 
sors : Enough to know, of his only begotten Son, that he is 
the Redeemer of the world and the Saviour of sinners, our 
Mediator and Intercessor with the Father, the Bread of Life 
and the Propitiation for our sins, the gracious Being to whom, 
we have only to look in faith and obey in sincerity, in order 
to be saved. 

Oh then, that we might never be induced to neglect so 
great salvation ; that w T e might be zealously engaged to work 
it out with fear and trembling, with all our heart, and mind, 
and soul, and strength. To others, we should devolve the task 
of settling curious questions, and unprofitable dogmas ; to 
others, the too daring presumption of dwelling exclusively 
upon the many ' things hard to be understood,' as if they con- 



305 



stituted the life and soul of religion. But for ourselves, humble 
and lowly in our own eyes, penitent, believing, and obedient 
in the sight of God, w r e should 6 press toward the mark, for 
the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus we 
should covet earnestly the best gifts, and obtaining them, in the 
way of God's appointment, we should live the life, and we 
should die the death, of the righteous. 

By such arguments as these, I can therefore, even under 
existing circumstances, satisfactorily to myself, and I trust to 
you, obviate every supposed objection to our divine religion, 
growing out of the unhappy divisions and animosities subsist- 
ing between brethren professing the same faith. My object 
indeed has been to present them in such a manner, that infidels 
themselves might feel their force, and surrender at discretion 
what I am willing to consider the strongest of their citadels. 
But after all, what are the most powerful arguments in their 
eyes, what in the estimation of even less determined adversa- 
ries to the truth, when they believe that a confused medley of 
sects, by tfcur irreconcilable opinions and bickerings, furnish 
ocular demonstration, that a religion productive of such dis- 
sensions cannot proceed from the God of order, and harmony, 
and peace ? I tell you, brethren, that as men are more struck 
by the visible heavens, for the very reason that they are seen, 
than by the invisible, so are they more affected by the religious 
discord they behold, than by the religious concord, which the 
bible exacts. They adopt indeed a very good rule, if applied 
to other subjects. They judge of Christianity by its effects, 
and shame and confusion of face be upon us, that this divine 
system of truth and holiness will not stand the test, in the im- 
portant particulars of mutual love and charity, for no other 
reason than this, we are determined to be divided, notwith- 
standing Christ our Saviour prayed, ' Holy Father, keep 
through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that 
they may be oxe, as we are.' 

With whom the fault lies, I have shown you. It is not with 
us. We adhere, and with our views cannot cease to adhere 



306 



to the Church, established by the Apostles, under the direction 
of Christ, and the supervision of the Holy Ghost. Our ortho- 
dox fellow Christians have either cast it away, or they are the 
successors of those who did, and hence the necessity of their 
returning to its bosom, before the infidel can be reclaimed, and 
made to give up the strongest argument, he is enabled to wield 
against the truth of the gospel. Let them do this, and for the 
reasons assigned, I am content that they shall bring with them 
their purely speculative opinions, I am more anxious for an 
agreement, about the facts recorded in the scriptures, and 
intended to command universal obedience. Let these be ac- 
knowledged, received, and acted upon, by the leading denom- 
inations of the protestant faith ; let the precomposed publick 
worship of the bible ; let the Church of the bible be embraced 
with mind and heart, and soul, by the presbytenans, the cor> 
gregationalists, the methodists, the baptists, and I dare engage 
that not many years would elapse, before open and disguised 
infidelity, before unitarianism and universalism, with every 
false way, would yield to a Zion, thus augmented in numbers, 
and, as Ignatius said, ' composed to unity.' It is that fatal 
schism which he denounced, as Paul denounced it, and which 
arrays so many orthodox Christians against each other ; it is 
this that gives strength, and confidence, and audacity to the 
freethinkers and hereticks of the age. 

At present, they are chiefly sustained in their errours, by our 
wretched feuds and jealousies : By the spiritual wars, we 
wage ; the intolerant and vituperative language, we employ ; 
the proselyting plans, we concert to thin each other's ranks ; 
the fire and fagot system, we maintain against the souls, if 
not the bodies of equally honest believers in Christ. And all 
this because Churches of human origin have crept in amongst 
us ; because whatever in religion is founded upon the devices 
of man's understanding, invariably calls up, in some shape or 
other, the bitter feelings and vindictive passions of our nature; 
because schism, even in its most favourable aspect, is, in the 
judgment of Paul, one among the many fatal lusts, which war 



?07 



in our members. ' For whereas there is among you envying, 
and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men ? 
For while one saith, I am of Paul ; and another, I am of Apollos; 
are ye not carnal V But could we only contrive to unite under 
the banners of the true apostolick Church, could all the faithful 
and godly combine to come out as one man, to the help of the 
Lord against the mighty, I am persuaded that his blessing would 
so crown our labours, that the great enemy of souls would receive 
a blow, more fatal to his cause, than any inflicted, since the 
foot of Christ was planted upon his head, at the hill of Calvary. 

Pray ye therefore, Christians, ye children of the promise, 
wherever located, pray ye, in the sincerity of your souls, for 
the peace of Jerusalem. They shall prosper that love her. 
Crush the monster, schism, and her direst earthly foe will be 
crushed. Resolve that she shall enjoy this advantage over 
her adversaries, and your own eyes shall behold, the righte- 
ousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof 
as a lamp that burneth. Amen, 



sermon xx. 

isaiah lxii. L 

For Ziori's saJce will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's 
sake I will not vest, until the righteousness thereof go forth 
as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that 
burneth. 

With the present discourse, will terminate all the remarks, 
which I designed to submit, in defence of the Church I love, 
the institutions and the doctrines my head and my heart ap- 
prove. Throughout the discussion, I have endeavoured to 
keep within the rules of decorum, to avoid all satirical as well 
as insulting language, and to make no assertions, which were 
not capable of being" fully sustained, either by unanswerable 



308 



proofs and authorities, or by the fair and legitimate deductions 
of reason. If I have erred in manner or in matter, it has not 
been intentionally, neither with the inclination to lead astray, 
nor the wish to wound the feelings of a single individual, that 
bears and loves the Christian name. 

Most cordially do I agree, that invective is not argument ; 
that ridicule is not the test of truth ; that unfounded statements 
recoil with invincible force, upon such as dare to enlist them 
in their service. If there were no higher and holier motive 
to influence my conduct, and guide me in the way I should go, 
a just estimate of worldly policy would alone teach me, that, 
in the end, candour and sincerity, forbearance and charity, 
ever triumph over artifice and fraud, inveterate rancour and 
bitter revilings. By foul language and envenomed epithets, 
no man hath yet approved himself to the conscience of the 
enlightened Christian. To authority he will bow, to reason 
he will lend a willing ear ; but let the bigot rave, and the 
slanderer riot in detraction, he will not be the creature of their 
fashioning, nor the recipient of their bile. 

No inducement then have I to follow their example. None 
that can be good, and none that is bad. I do not calculate to 
laugh a sectarian out of his prejudices, and I know, that he 
will never relinquish them, at the nod of disdain, or the sneer 
of reproach. Arguments however must not lose their weight, 
from being too tamely expressed. There is an air of holy bold- 
ness, that should mark the language of truth. It proceeds not 
from a wavering, dubious mind. Its object is not to deal in 
ambiguous phrases, to trumpet forth an uncertain sound, and 
beguile the favouring smiles of all sorts of men. But its speech, 
though seasoned with grace, is firm and decided, free as the 
air it breathes, and uncompromising as the principles it advan- 
ces. When did Jesus of Nazareth accommodate his sayings 
to the passions and prejudices of the multitude ? When did he 
flatter their vanity or attempt to heal the hurt of the daughter 
of his people slightly ? In him, brethren, there was no sin, 
neither was guile found in his mouth. His maxims, his doc- 



309 



trines varied not with time, place, or circumstance. He had 
not one for the scribe, and another for the publican ; one for 
the high priest, and another for the pharisee : By such means, 
buying golden opinions from all, and on no account venturing 
to stir a debatable question, or oppose a long indulged and 
favourite errour. But he could speak with plainness and ex- 
postulate with freedom, though his mission was love, and his 
merciful goodness, as unlimited as the universe. 

With his example before my eyes, I have therefore no apol- 
ogy to offer for the fearlessness, with which I have breasted 
the tide of popular sentiment, and exposed errours imbibed in 
infancy, and cherished to manhood and even declining age ; 
no apology for urging, with zeal and inflexibility, opinions 
derived from the scriptures, and that I conscientiously believe 
to be true as God is true. My heart acquits me from all sinis- 
ter designs. I am not ashamed upon this subject to avow the 
most secret sentiments of my soul. I know, that it is not pol- 
luted by a hostile feeling towards the person of any man. I 
affirm with confidence, that it is not imbittered by a vindictive 
temper towards either of the various denominations of Chris- 
tians. But where they do err, surely it is my duty, without 
impeaching their motives, or detracting from their piety, to 
canvass their principles. Where they do entertain and prop- 
agate unfounded views of the Church of the living God, it is my 
privilege, as well as my duty, to vindicate her from every unjust 
aspersion, and contribute all in my power to exhibit her, in her 
true light, uncontaminated in doctrine, and unsullied in glory. 

In the preceding effort, it is not however my weakness to 
believe, that I shall succeed to the extent I could wish. I am 
too sensible of the nature of human bias ; how tenacious we 
all are of our youthful predilections; what extraordinary energy 
of character it requires to disabuse the rnind of their influence, 
however wrong. I am also aware, that those very features of 
the Church, which serve to recommend her most strongly to 
the affection of her children, are precisely those, least adapted 
to conciliate the esteem of the modern religionist. He either 

26 



310 



wants something more rigid and austere to the eye, or he is too 
excitable, of too enthusiastick a temperament, to be gratified 
with her grave appearance and moderate sentiments. She is 
too cheerful in her piety for some, and too cold and lukewarm 
for others ! With either class, she has too little, while, with 
the men of the world, she has too much, religion ' But to her 
praise be it spoken, she is in no danger of being dashed in 
pieces upon Scylla, or of being ingulphed in Charybdis. She 
neither mistakes pretension for faith, nor freethinking for lib- 
erality ; a demure countenance for a renovated heart, nor the 
love of the world for the love of God. Avoiding all extremes, 
she is rather devout without pomp, and faithful without boast- 
ing ; glad without gayety, and rational without licentiousness ; 
in a word, exactly calculated for sensible, judicious, and pious 
Christians. I care not what may be their condition, or what 
their profession ; whether they are rich or poor, learned or 
unlearned, addicted to the labours of the head, or the work of 
the hands. I only ask for good minds devested of prejudice 
an the one side, and disposed to investigate on the other ; to 
read, think, and judge for themselves ; and I am certain, that 
the Church, and all, which she receives and contains, will 
meet with their warmest approbation. 

This is emphatically the age of inquiry. Its spirit has gone 
abroad. It is actively and unremittingly employed, in the 
various departments of art and science ; and religion must and 
will receive a large share of its attention. When Christ de- 
clares, that 6 whosoever forsaketh not all that he hath, cannot 
be his disciple, 5 intelligent persons will not be satisfied with 
adhering to any opinions, upon the sole ground, of their having 
been the received opinions of their ancestors. Such a princi- 
ple would continue the larger portion of mankind, in a state 
of heathen superstition, to the end of time. If they will not 
hear Christ, and be influenced by the doctrines, which are ac- 
cording to godliness, because their progenitors would not, or 
could not, then are they destined to bow the knee to Baal, until 
the world, and the fashion thereof, shall have passed away. 



311 



But is this desirable ? Can there be any Christians disposed 
to acquiesce, in the propriety of this decision ? Let them then 
evince their disapprobation, by discarding the self-same doc- 
trine from their personal creed. It is high time to look at 
things as they are, and not as gilded over and mystified by 
preceding generations, however honest and worthy. It is high 
time to strip the evil genius, schism, of its meretricious dress, 
and expose it, in all the naked deformity of its features. The 
intellectual and reflecting are not so deeply committed, as to 
be incapable of bursting their bonds, and paying their homage, 
at the shrine of bible truth. A calm and dispassionate view 
of the existing dissensions, and respectively hostile attitude of 
the numerous religious sects, will be sufficient to convince 
them, that all this cannot be the work of a God of love and 
harmony ; that other traits should distinguish the true i people 
of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand ;' that they must sur- 
rendertheir human systems and human Churches; and acknowl- 
edge, that the reformed world requires to be reformed anew. 

But how is this to be effected ? By recourse to the bible, and 
where the bible is susceptible of different interpretations, by 
recurring to the period, when unity prevailed, and inspired truth 
presided, in the congregations of the faithful. As Dry den said ? 

"In doubtful questions 'tis the safest way 

"To learn what unsuspected ancients say : 

" For 'tis not likely we should higher soar 

"In search of heaven than all the Church before/' 

The disciples of Christ were first called Christians at Antioch, 
and not at Geneva. And how was the Church at Antioch, 
how were its sister Churches of the first centuries, construct- 
ed ? What was their government, and what their ministry ? 
What their publick worship and their doctrinal faith ? It is by 
gleaning from such sources, that we can only hope to com- 
mence a new era, in the history of Christendom, and therefore 
have I availed myself of their combined testimony ; therefore 
have I clearly proved, that when the Church was established 
and ordered, in strict conformity to the scriptures, and as we 



312 



would have it established and ordered, that then there existed 
peace, and harmony, and love ; that all genuine Christians 
were of the same mind ; could worship at the same altar ; could 
reverence the same ministers of Jesus ; and partake, at one 
table, of the same flesh and blood of their redemption. 

To exhibit a scene like this in modern times, we must re- 
linquish all that is novel, and revive all that is old, in religion. 
We must repair the many breaches, that have been made in 
the walls of Zion, and restore her to the state of original sim- 
plicity and purity. For, in divinity, a moment's reflection 
should satisfy us, that the course of inquiry must be directly 
the reverse of what it is, in natural science. It must be back- 
ward and not forward ; backward to the fountain head and 
last revelation of God, rather than forward, busied in a vain 
search for new light and new doctrines. A distinction far 
from being sufficiently observed, and to whose neglect may 
be justly attributed all the evils, which have been most unpro- 
pitiously grafted, into the only pure system of faith and mor- 
als. Only look at natural science. It has been constantly 
improving, because it was susceptible of improvement. The 
ancients were here comparatively ignorant and stupid. The 
moderns have far outstripped their lingering steps, and are 
still barely upon the threshold of what they anticipate will 
hereafter be discovered, in the revolution of ages. 

In religion, on the contrary, an entirely different result pre- 
sents itself, and for the very reason, that when the volume of 
inspiration was closed, it no longer admitted of emendation or 
addition. It was perfect then as it can be now. Notwith- 
standing every effort that has been made, by curiously inquis- 
itive minds, it has been, and is, impossible for them to be wise 
above what is written. Even biblical learning and criticism 
derive all their value, from the success they have experienced, 
in establishing the authenticity and true reading of the scrip- 
tures, as they were originally possessed and understood, by 
the ancient disciples. And what do protestants think of the 
corruptions introduced during the dark ages I They reject 



313 



them as unauthorized and unfounded. They compare them 
with what prevailed before they soiled the pure ermine of the 
Church, and employ the word reformation itself, because it 
carries them back to the first and purest ages. 

What credit then can we give to the more recent floods of 
light, that have been professedly shed upon the Christian 
world ? Have their adherents improved upon Paul and his 
brother apostles ; upon the doctrines they taught, and the 
Church they founded, under the guidance of Christ and the 
Holy Spirit ? Then is division an improvement. Then is the 
extracting from the bible doctrines irreconcilably opposed to 
each other, an improvement. It is a better state of things, 
that some Christians should maintain, and others denounce, 
the doctrine of the atonement ; that some should assert, and 
others deny, the everlasting punishment of the wicked ; and so 
throughout all contradictory creeds, it must be a great im- 
provement to be constantly harassed and perplexed with the 
exclamations, ' lo, here is Christ/ and lo, he is ' there.' But 
what rational being, what pious believer can possibly embrace 
such opinions ? It is scarcely possible for him, under these 
circumstances, not to perceive, that instead of improvement, 
discord and disunion are melancholy spots and wrinkles upon 
our holy profession ; that instead of progressing, there are 
many particulars in which Christians, as a body, have retro- 
graded in the race for the heavenly world, compared to what 
they were in primeval times ; and that, to present a brighter 
spectacle in the eyes of the celestial host, they that have wan- 
dered must return to the bosom of the primitive Church. 

I will not pretend, that it would have the immediate effect 
of evangelizing the world, and producing an unbroken una- 
nimity of sentiment. There would still exist some few deniers 
of Jesus find the resurrection. The scorner would still make 
a mock at sin, and the wicked man rejoice in his iniquity. 
But this I will assert, The preachers of heresy of every de- 
scription would gradually become less and less in number, 
until at length they would be completelv banished from the face 

26* 



314 



of the earth. An apostoliek ministry, united in one Church, 
would put them down more effectually than any merely human 
means. I have already shown you, that they are invariably 
opposed to bishops ; and let me now say, that, as the contin- 
ued dispersion of the Jews is a standing miracle, authenticating 
beyond all doubt the inspiration of the sacred volume ; so does 
this remarkable fact furnish a scarcely inferiour or less obvi- 
ous miracle, in favour of the divine institution, and beneficial 
nature and tendency of episcopacy. 

If however I am told, that there were many hereticks, even 
in the two first centuries, 1 answer, that they were uniformly 
presbyters or deacons, and as uniformly opposed by their bish- 
ops. I answer, that Arius, of the fourth century, the most 
successful and renowned of all the ancient hereticks, was also 
a presbyter, and that, if he did corrupt several of the episcopal 
order, his sentiments were condemned, in a general council, 
composed of, nearly three hundred bishops. I answer, that 
his unitarian doctrines were finally extirpated through the 
powerful and benign influence of their successors in office ; 
and that at this very moment, as if to remind us of their origin, 
they are only publickly taught and enforced, by a ministry of 

PRESBYTERS. 

No longer therefore let us hear of the dangerous usurpation 
of bishops, The danger consists in the rejection of their 
order. Were the maxims of expediency alone consulted, it 
should obtain the approbation of all the orthodox denomina- 
tions, and be regarded as one of the most efficacious bulwarks 
against the dissemination of principles, which they unite in 
condemning. But we place episcopacy upon higher grounds 
than those of expediency ; we claim for it the sanction of di- 
vine authority ; and considering it equally binding with the 
two sacraments of the gospel, we say to our pious presbyterian 
friends of all sects, when you can convince us, that they may 
be rightfully dispensed with, we shall find little difficulty in 
admitting the validity of your favourite ministerial parity. 
Until then, while we bid you 1 God speed,' as to your personal 



315 



progress in the way everlasting ; while we commend your 
zeal for heavenly things ; and esteem you highly in love for 
your works' sake, we cannot but regret the countenance you 
now give, however indirectly and unintentionally, to all man- 
ner of heresy and schism ; we cannot even for your gratifica- 
tion cease to maintain, with earnestness and perseverance, 
those institutions of our Church, which are to be traced to the 
inspired volume, and that the unanimous testimony of all an- 
tiquity ascribes to the immediate agency and direction of the 
holy Apostles. 

We rather entreat you as brethren solemnly to pause and 
reflect upon these things. We cannot refrain from indulging 
the hope, that diligently examining, and impartially weighing 
the many arguments we have to produce, you will ultimately 
abandon the Churches of recent and human origin, and cor- 
dially unite with the Zion of the Lord of Hosts. It is a 
confined and mistaken view, which limits the subject of in- 
quiry to yourselves alone. You must take a broader range. 
You must contemplate the effects of division, as exhibited in 
the actual condition of myriads upon myriads of your fellow 
men, and ask your consciences, if their alienation from Christ, 
their neglect of religion, their unsound tenets and delinquent 
practices, are not owing, in a great degree, to the unhappy 
dissensions, so visible in the sounder part of the Christian 
community. They certainly cannot have the slightest ten- 
dency to recommend our common faith, and I am confident, 
that they are pregnant with incalculable mischief. 

If one of your own Churches is afflicted and annoyed with 
intestine strife, you do not fail to deplore the injurious con- 
sequences upon the surrounding neighbourhood, as well as its 
individual members. You ardently long and pray for the 
restoration of peace and concord. And what is confessedly 
injurious upon a small scale, you should not fail to perceive, 
must be eminently more so upon a larger. All other inci- 
dental causes combined do not indeed so deeply wound the 
general interests of the Redeemer's kingdom, as the emula- 



316 



tions and wrath, the jealousies and heart-burnings, the crimir> 
ations and recriminations of its acknowledged friends. A 
new convert especially often deems it absolutely indispensable, 
that he should become the thoroughgoing partisan of his par- 
ticular sect, and in too many instances the offensive epithets, 
he applies to others, are felt to be the readiest passports :: 
the confidence and approbation of his seniors in profession. 
And why should you not be equally engaged in imploring pi 
your heavenly Father speedily to remove these evils, as you are 
those of a less general, and consequently of a less fatal, char- 
acter ? It may be, that upon reflection, you will find your- 
selves less anxiously intent upon the good cause of union 
than you ought to be ; and we know, that secret prayer is 
rarely offered, and never accepted, unless it proceeds from the 
heart. We know, that however fervent you may be in your 
other petitions, you must become alike fervent in this, before 
the world of sinners are destined to be benefitted, by your 
personal example in giving up a party, for the communion 
and fellowship of the holy catholick or universal Church. 

I design not, brethren, by these observations to afford any 
just grounds of complaint to our fellow Christians. But faith- 
ful, say the scriptures, 8 faithful are the wounds of a friend,' 
and a friend I avow myself to all, that are godly in Christ Je- 
sus. In this capacity I speak, in this admonish them, that, no 
matter how zealously and profitably they may be now employ- 
ed, in the benevolent labours of love, they could do more as a 
body towards promoting the everlasting welfare of souls, by 
the single act of renouncing upon conviction the way of 
schism, than they will be able to effect, in that state, if their 
lives could be prolonged to the age of Methuselah, and their 
charities be multiplied ten thousand times ten thousand fold. 
If we may safely judge of the future from the past, wherever 
they erect an orthodox, posterity will behold a heterodox 
Church : wherever they found an evangelical, there will rise 
upon its ruins a non-evangelical, school. Such has been prov- 
ed to be the tendency of their ministry and worship : and so 



317 



confident I am, of its being the natural consequence of the 
system they espouse, that I cannot but reiterate the persuasion, 
and implore them no longer to furnish the incipient causes of 
the future prosperity and triumph of our mutual antagonists. 

More than this, I cannot and will not urge. Instead of 
pursuing forebodings not more ungracious to them, than un- 
pleasant to me, I will advert to another theme. I will bid 
you call to remembrance all that has been advanced in behalf 
of our venerable Church ; and if you concur in opinion with 
me, that her government and ministry are apostolick ; her 
rites and sacraments, scriptural ; her liturgy, devotional and 
holy ; her doctrines, true and righteous altogether ; if the ar- 
guments submitted have been followed by the g fullest conviction 
of their clearness and force, my chief object has been success- 
fully accomplished, and a foundation laid for the future wel- 
fare of this congregation, which, I have every reason to hope 
and believe, the lapse of time will only operate to increase 
rather than diminish. 

The course I have taken was commenced under the con- 
sciousness, that, wherever intelligence exists, abstract opinions 
are of little value. I knew that you would require proofs ; that 
you would not be satisfied with naked assertions. But I also 
knew that those proofs were ready to my hand ; that they could 
be drawn from the scriptures, and corroborated from other 
sources, in endless profusion. And have I succeeded in making 
a judicious selection ? Have I convinced you, by a statement 
of facts of incontrovertible weight and authority ? Now that 
the w T ork is finished, whatever may be its subsequent fate, I 
shall not regret the labour it has cost me. Personal feelings 
and considerations, from which none of us are entirely exempt, 
should ever yield, in the minister of Jesus, to an ardent desire 
to accelerate the march of truth on the one hand, and to retard 
the progress of errour on the other. With this desire I have 
written, and with this by the divine blessing I shall publish. 
Our Church, in this western country, has long been the theme 
for almost universal reproach, a reproach partaking as much 



318 



of acrimony as derision, and I would fain aspire to the hon- 
our of vindicating the purity of her character, and the excel- 
lency of her institutions. Opposition may ensue. Invective 
may be called out. But they neither alarm, nor intimidate, 
nor trouble me. Standing upon firm ground, I am conscious, 
that it cannot be swept, by mere dint of numbers, from beneath 
my feet ; and I am powerfully encouraged by the reflection, 
that whenever and wherever we have met our opponents in the 
fair, open field of controversy, they have been invariably foil- 
ed in their arguments. The reason is obvious. Nothing can 
withstand the mighty force of truth. Power may crush it for a 
time. The mists of errour may obscure it for a season. But in 
the sequel, it acquires strength from persecution, reputation 
from obloquy, and like the sun emerges from behind the clouds 
to shine out with redoubled rays of light and glory. 

While therefore upon many accounts, I would gladly waive 
a religious controversy, and rejoice at being permitted to es- 
cape serious animadversion ; while I would reluctantly chal- 
lenge any of our Christian brethren to embark in a contest, 
that might infringe too much upon my usual avocations, yet 
am I not to be deterred, by any fears of eventual discomfiture, 
from giving these discourses to the publick, and maintaining 
them, if necessary, with the spirit, the temper, and the intre- 
pidity becoming a Christian, and especially a steward of the 
manifold grace of God. Come what come may, ' For Zion's 
sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will 
not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, 
and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.' 

In the meantime, brethren, let me persuade you to reflect* 
that the circumstance of existing within the pale of the very 
Church, originally planted by the college of the Apostles, and 
freely watered with their own, and the blood of numerous 
worthy confessors ; so far from exonerating you, from the 
obligation to lead a life of undissembling faith and holiness, 
should stimulate you to yet higher exertions to 6 walk worthy 
of the vocation wherewith ye are called.' If there are any 
Churchmen, who speak a different language, they miserably 



319 



deceive themselves, and are justly liable to the charge of en- 
deavouring to subvert the faith of others. We recognise no 
such delusive evasions of duty. We would seriously impress 
upon your minds, that, in proportion to the peculiar advan- 
tages you enjoy, you are called upon to measure the extent 
of your responsibility. 

The Church provides her members with a valid ministry ; 
and they are so much the more inexcusable than others, if 
they fail to listen to sound doctrine, and irreproveable pre- 
cepts. She puts into their hands forms of prayer, to be used 
in publick worship, which are adapted to all their spiritual 
exigencies, which will enable them to approximate the throne 
of grace, and supplicate the Lord, in an acceptable manner ; 
and if, through any disaffection of their souls to him, they are 
not found to unite in her solemn services, the more severely 
will they be judged, and condemned for these omissions. She 
presents them, in her articles and formularies, with as com- 
pendious a system of evangelical doctrine, as it is practicable 
to obtain from the scriptures of truth, wherein they think they 
have eternal life ; and if they do not treasure it up in their 
souls, and cause it to regulate their constant belief and prac- 
tice, yet deeper will the sore displeasure of Almighty God be 
visited upon them, still more intense will be the consuming 
fire of his indignation. 

Never then, brethren, no never, suffer yourselves to be so 
influenced by a vain admiration of the external features of the 
Church, as to overlook the strong and emphatick terms, in 
which she importunes and requires you to 6 walk in newness 
of life/ A more fatal imagination could not beguile you ; 
one that would prove more inimical to your present peace, or 
more destructive to your future happiness. But in all your 
principles, and in all your conduct, evince to the world, that 
your attainments in true religion are not to be excelled, by the 
most exemplary Christian, that among the dissenters adorns 
the doctrine of God, our Saviour. It is by a faithful and obe- 
dient life, a life of heavenly character and import, that yoa 
will most effectually ' put to silence the ignorance of foolish 



320 



men,' and baffle the revilings of those, who * falsely accuse 
your good conversation in Christ.' I am far from insisting 
upon loud and boisterous professions. I would not encourage 
a vain and ostentatious parade of graces, which, while they 
decorate the person, correspond not with the internal emo- 
tions of the mind and heart ; but there are numerous require- 
ments of the law and gospel, through whose strict observance, 
ye are to become wise unto salvation, and not one of them will 
I cease to conjure you to obey ; not one of them can be design- 
edly omitted without incurring the greatest of all privations, 
the loss of eternal life. The Church inculcates no other sen- 
timents. They are inseparably connected with the pure and 
holy living she exacts ; and if ye bear true love to her, then 
will ye not hesitate to make those sentiments your own, then 
will ye gladly inure yourselves to that pure and holy living. 

On the whole, brethren, no one possessed of reason to dis- 
criminate, and the opportunity to judge, can for a moment 
question the pre-eminent excellence of our beloved Zion. 
She may be calumniated by bigots of severe and contracted 
minds. She may be derided by enthusiasts deranged in their 
intellects. She may be denounced by skepticks having 6 an 
evil heart of unbelief.' But neither separately nor combined, 
by craft nor by violence, will they be able to prevail against 
her, to undermine her foundations, or level her bulwarks to 
the ground. By the liberal and unprejudiced ; by the sober 
and considerate ; by the wise and good ; she will ever be re- 
garded, as 6 A CROWN OF GLORY IN THE HAND OF THE LORD, 
AND A ROYAL DIADEM IN THE HAND OF HER GOD.' They will 

perceive, that for long ages, he has been her shield and her 
buckler, the impregnable fortress of her strength., and the lofty 
tower of her defence. They will appropriate to her, as I have 
done, the prophetick language of Isaiah's vow ; and although 
its more brilliant accomplishment may be deferred to the 
days of millennial felicity, then at least will it unquestionably 
appear, in the sight of men and angels, that her righteous- 
ness HAS GONE FORTH AS BRIGHTNESS, AND HER SALVATION AS * 
A LAMP THAT BURNETH. AMEN. 



321 



INDEX. 



Abbot, archbishop, testimony of, relating to Calvin, page 107. 

Ambrose, testimony of, on confirmation, 142. 

Analogy of the Jewish and Christian Churches, 29 and 30. 

Apostles, the office of, still exists, 43 — argument continued, 
49 — case of Matthias, 52 — of Barnabas and Epaphroditus, 
53 — of Timothy, 55 and 76 — of Titus, 59 and 76. 

Articles of the Church examined, 220 — adopted in the United 
States, 263. 

Atonement of Christ, the extent of, 224. 

Augustin, on infant baptism, 132— on forms of prayer, 193. 

Baptism, the mode of, 120 — infant, 126. 

Barnabas, an Apostle, 53. 

Baxter, testimony of, in relation to forms of prayer, 2.13. 
Beecher's opinion of revivals and conversions, 260. 
Beza, on episcopacy, 109 — on predestination, 229. 
Bible, Episcopalians translated the version in common use, 

217 — with their standing as writers, 219. 
Bishop and Presbyter, promiscuous use of the titles in the 

scriptures explained, 77 — with Theodoret's testimony, 78. 
Bishops, the successors of the Apostles in office, 78 and 86 — 

their succession examined, and objections answered, 104. 
Blessing of God, claimed by the dissenters, and the subject 

examined, 283 — in relation to Germany and Geneva, with 

the remark of Rousseau, and the testimony of Raffles, 

284— England, with the statement of Edwards, 286— the 

puritans of New-England, 288. 
Bucer, testimony of, on episcopacy, 109. 
Calvin, on episcopacy, 107 — on confirmation, 144 — on forms 

of prayer, 195 — on predestination, 227 and 229. 
Chrysostom, on episcopacy, 80 and 87. 

* 27 



322 



Church, definition of. 23 — cannot be constituted by human 
power, 24 — Christian founded, 25 — doctrine of our own, 
28— Jewish, a type of the Christian, 29 and 30. 

Clemens Alexandrinus, on episcopacy, 73. 

Colman, testimony of, on confirmation, 146. 

Communion, our views of admission to its privileges, 149— 
extract from Mason, 151, 

Confirmation or laying on of hands, sermon upon, 135. 

Conversion, subject examined, 255 — extract from Mason, 259 
— from Beecher, 260. 

Cornelius, on episcopacy, 87 — on confirmation, 142. 

Crisp, antinornian views of, 228. 

Cyprian, on episcopacy, 74 — on infant baptism, 132 — on con- 
firmation, 142 — on forms of prayer, 193. 

Deacons, the third rank in the ministry, 39. 

Dissensions among Christians, evil consequences of, 293 — 
argument of the skeptick and others, upon this subject, re- 
futed, 296. 

Epaphroditus, an Apostle, 53 — 78 — 80 and 82. 
Episcopacy, views of the Church upon, 28 — argument in its 

favour from the admission of its enemies, 90 — no ancient 

record left of its being a usurpation, 91. 
Episcopalian and Presbyterian, real distinction between, with 

the numbers on either side, 35. 
Erasmus, on Calvinism, 231. 

Extemporaneous prayers, origin of, in England, 195— are 
forms, 206. 

External ceremonies in publick worship, sermon upon, 156. 

Faith and works, doctrine of the Church upon, 251. 

Fathers of the Church, their testimony upon episcopacy, 65 — 
Ignatius, 68 — Polycarp, 71 — Irenasus and Clemens Alex- 
andrinus, 73 — Tertullian, Origen, and Cyprian, 74 — Jer- 
ome, 75 — other fathers, 76 and 78 — consequences of reject- 
ing their testimony, 83. 

Female exhibitions in publick, 18. 

Forms of prayer, scriptural evidence of their use, 174 — prao- 



323 



tice of Christ, 178 — of the Apostles, 186 — of the primitive 
Christian, 192 — Calvin's opinion, 195 — advantages of lit- 
urgies over extemporaneous prayers, sermon upon, 200. 

Hades, or place of departed spirits, sermon upon, 264. 

Hill, Rowland, predestination of the elect, 227. 

Hymn book and prayer book, 191. 

Hymns, no objection with dissenters to precomposed, 208. 
Ignatius, the testimony of, upon episcopacy, 68 and 87. 
Inquiry, the present is the age of, 310. 
Irenseus, on episcopacy, 73 — on infant baptism, 132. 
Jerome, different testimonies of, 75 — 76 — 80 — 81 — 82—87 

—98—143 and 168. 
Justin Martyr, on infant baptism, 132. 

Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, case of, with Uzzah's, 61 and 62. 
Luther, testimony of, on episcopacy, 108. 
Mason, extract from, on Church membership, 151 — on revi- 
vals and conversions, 259. 
Mason, Win. on predestination of the elect, 227. 
Melancthon, testimony of, on episcopacy, 108. 
Methodist Church, its origin and claims to episcopacy, 111. 
Necessity, the reformer's plea for schism, examined, 110.. 
Origen, on episcopacy, 74 — on infant baptism, 132. 
Original sin, doctrine of, 222. 
Ostervald, testimony of, on confirmation, 147. 
Poly carp, on episcopacy, 71. 
Prayer book and hymn book, 191. 

Prayer and praise, harmony between w 7 ritten forms of, 207. 

Predestination, opinion of Calvin, Coles, Rowland Hill, and 
Mason, 227 — of Crisp, 228 — of Zanchius, Beza, Calvin, 
Peter Martyr, Perkins, Knox, and the New-England divines, 
229 — of Toplady, 230 — of Erasmus and bishop Seabury, 
231 — subject continued, 233 — relates to character and not 
to person? 234 — the seventeenth article of the Church, 235 
— it differs from foreknowledge, with the case of David at 
Keilah, 238 — of Jacob and Esau, 240 — misconception upon 
the subject, 244. 



324 



Presbyterian and episcopalian, distinction between, 35. 

Presbyterianism, origin of, 106 — opinion of Calvin, 107 — 
of Luther, and Melancthon, 108 — Beza, and Bucer, 109 — 
of the diet at Worms, 110 — ends in Unitarianism, subject 
examined at large, 283 — adverted to, 314 and 316. 

Presbyters, the second rank in the ministry, 43. 

Reformers in England, 216. 

Regeneration, doctrine of the Church upon, 249. 

Revivals in religion, 257. 

Roman Catholick, not the mother Church, 96 — argument 
founded on this presumption answered, 97 — subject contin- 
ued, 102. 

Schism, Christ's declaration upon, 13 — Paul's, 13 — evil effects 
of, exposed throughout the discourses, particularly in the 
three last of the series. 

Seabury, on Calvinism, 231. 

Sectarians do not agree among themselves wherein the Church 
is wrong, 279. 

Succession of bishops, subject examined and objections an- 
swered, 104. 
Syrian Church in India, 94 and 133. 

Tertullian, on episcopacy, 74 — on confirmation, 142 — on 

forms of prayer, 192. 
Theodoret's account of the apostolick succession, 78 and 89. 
Timothy, an Apostle, 55 — 57 and 76. 
Titus, an Apostle, 59 and 76. 

Toplady, on limited redemption, 226* — his views of predesti- 
nation, 230 and 239. 

Union and harmony amongst Christians desirable, 11 — want 
of them with the dissenters, 279. 

Unitarianism in Germany and Geneva, 284 — in England, 
286 — barriers against its introduction into the Church, 289. 

Wesley, John, disclaims the episcopal character, 113. 

Wesley, Charles, his letter, 114. # 

Worldly wisdom among Christians, 17. 

Zanchius, on predestination, 229. 



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